Keira had been given much to stew over on the drive to the campsite. While they had been making the cross country trip in bursts, the final stretch still took a long time. Meaning that Keira was finding herself spending the better half of a day watching flat fields slowly fade into a lush forest, and eventually a mountainous region. Then they got to their destination, and she realised with mild horror that she had not accounted for the queue to get onto the site in the first place. As this was an international event there were quite a few people there, and although there were multiple roads leading onto the site and staggered arrival times for different countries, it could only ease the congestion so much. Keira spent most of the time in the queue looking at the map that was provided to them and trying to ignore some of the other members of the unit doing the worm down the bus.
As the site was incredibly large it had to be split into six different sections, with five technical residential sections and one main one where a large portion of the activities were held. The five residential sections were colour coded which made telling where she was significantly easier, with the rows of tents being a specific colour and a tower with the section number situated in the middle. One of the sites was just for staff, which was useful to know. With the main section being the only place that wasn’t colour coordinated making it easy to tell apart, even if there wasn’t a lake in the middle of the site. Eventually they did get moving again, meaning that people had to get back into their seats, and as they got closer to their specific section the road got less and less congested.
While Keira could have stared out the window and watched the scenery pass, she would have time for that later. Instead she checked the forecast to help determine what she was going to do that afternoon. Her nose scrunched in distaste when she read that there was supposed to be rain later, which was not only awkward as it meant that she would have to find an indoor activity, but also because they had to set up their tents once they got to the campsite. Though looking at the downright pleasant weather, they still had time. Keira snorted to herself. It seemed like it was the calm before the storm both literally and metaphorically.
Once they had all gotten a hold of their bags from the storage area of the coach, they began to pitch the tents. Keira was surprised to see that despite the dryness of the ground, it was still moist enough to drive nails into and after they had finished pitching the tents, the leaders called for the group to congregate in the centre.
“Since it’s getting fairly late we don’t want to do the food shop today as we’ll have to also sort out the plans for meals and do the cooking. Luckily the organisers have set up a group of tents near the middle of the entire thing so attendees can sample different foods from different cultures. These should be open as they have been running since the first arrivals. Does anyone disagree or need help with money?” There was a general murmur from the crowd, none of which seemed to be a complaint, which the leader noted. “Alright, put your bags in your tents, make sure your padlock is on and let’s go.”
While they had been given a general direction to where the food tents were, Keira still ended up looking it up on the app provided by the organisers which included a map and any big events. While they had uploaded a less detailed one online, which was the one that she had been using on the ride over, she was able to search specific locations with the app. It looked like it was a good forty-minute walk through bits of forest and around a lake, with another big downside that there was a high percentage chance of rain soon. She ended up going with a waterproof coat that she tied around her waist and walking boots. Her friend Naima on the other hand went with traditional vacation gear including, but not limited to, flip flops.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea...?” Naima looked up at Keira and smiled.
“Of course! It’s lovely weather and I want to enjoy this holiday as much as possible.”
“Those aren’t made for walking though, not to mention there’s supposed to be a storm later.”
“I’ll be fine! Just relax a little!” Keira burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it considering the situation that was permanently weighing on her mind. Naima meanwhile looked very confused, but in the end shrugged her off and joined the group that was gathering in their meeting spot again. Once the head count ended, they were off.
With the sun just setting and the weather not suffocatingly warm, it was a rather nice walk. The entire thing was set up around a massive lake in the centre and the walk down took them down dirt roads that passed multiple different campsites and eventually led into dirt paths that circled the lake. These paths weren’t deserted either, there were plenty of people walking in groups and talking, which coupled with the sun gave the whole place a warm atmosphere. She felt herself slipping into a more relaxed mood, but she still kept an eye out for any strange occurrences. Kheka did say that walking in the woods deep enough might be enough to go to the fey realm, but she also remembered his phrasing around that statement. The way to prevent people from randomly getting lost would be to add protections, according to him, and considering not only the size of the gathering but the fact that it seemed at least the Arian government was aware of the supernatural, there should be some. Which made her job harder.
Keira found herself spending the last leg of the journey looking at the map on her phone, debating where she should check out first. It had also given a list of events along with the time and place, but she was less interested in those. If her theory was correct then at least some of site staff should be aware of the ley line convergence and were also aware of any protections put into place, so that would probably the best place to start. However that also led to the question on how she could check whether or not the site staff were involved and if they were, how to get information out of them. She couldn’t just go up to random people working and start asking them insane questions about the fey and different planes of existence. That would at least constitute a call home and her parents were already hesitant to let her on this trip. The only other option she could think of was to stalk the staff who she thought could lead her to something, but not only was that extremely creepy, but it would similarly be a massive time investment. Maybe she could get away with sniffing around the designated section where the site staff were staying, though she knew that she wouldn’t blend in. And again, there was the issue that the regular staff would have no idea anything was even happening.
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As the group started coming out of the forested section around the lake, a security guard came up to them to check their passes and that was when it hit Keira. The organisers may have an idea of what was going on, but they are also going to be a lot harder to reach. Those who are working in security however… she might have better luck. Though there was still the issue of how she was going to get the information, and if she did have to resort to following someone now was not the time for it as though there were still a few groups of people milling around, it would be far too easy to notice her. Maybe she should wait for there to be large event happening so it would be easier to blend in… Keira switched the app on her phone over to the itinerary. There were a few things going on that night, such as a rave on one of the camp sites nearby but the top result was highlighted. The result was the opening ceremony on the next day. Keira couldn’t help but smile at that. It would also give her an opportunity to ditch Naima as well since they were going as a group, hence they didn’t have to think about the buddy system.
By the time they made it to their destination the sun was beginning to set and dark clouds started to lurk in the sky. They had barely managed to make it into the central marquee before the storm came in full force and sheets of rain began pouring down. Keira patted Naima on her back.
“Good luck on the way back.”
“Thanks…” Naima sighed, but she didn’t make any pleas for Keira’s coat. Perhaps because she thought that since she was already in flip flops and shorts there would be no point. Various people in the unit had taken seats in the central marquee and were discussing which food options they would take. Generally speaking there were a few calls for various countries such as Cernian or Cascanoan, but then one voice rose above them all.
“The Arian one is right next to us. If we lift up the sheets on the side of this marquee and that one then we technically won’t even have to go outside to get our food.” A silence fell over the crowd as everyone mulled over the option. Then someone chimed in from the back.
“That’s a great idea!” A significant portion of the group cheered in response.
#####
“Okay, so what parts of this are we investigating then?” Maxwell and Marshall had once again been assigned on a mission together, though this time it was less because of their history and more because of the fact that they were both there when they received the tip from Gastele.
“They’ve set up certain protections around the perimeter and centre to stop the convergence from interfering too much with the event, or so the files claim. It’s hard to gauge intent without an expert on hand, especially when we don’t know who is involved in the supernatural side of things and who isn’t. I would wager that those towers at the centre of every section are a part of the ritual, but the ones around the perimeter will be harder to spot.”
“Oh, great news.” Maxwell muttered sarcastically as he shoved more noodles into his mouth. “Do you think they’ll let up poke around them?”
“Of course they will. We’re stationed here on the order of the I.L.E.A. and they have to accommodate us when they are issued a warrant to.”
“Another benefit to moving over to the International Law Enforcement Agency, I guess. Don’t suppose that the same courtesy has been extended over to the Order?”
“Absolutely not. They’re a privately funded organization that is allowed special privileges, but search warrants are not part of them. Those are never given outside the I.L.E.A.”
“Fantastic. At least they’re all special cases and I don’t have to deal with my old co-workers.”
“You won’t have to deal with them officially. I think you of all people should know that the Order of Alzumah is going to be investigating this anyway.” Maxwell grumbled and continued snacking on the noodles that he had recently bought. All things considered it was once of the cushier missions Marshall had undertaken. While they had undercover agents and others camping outside the perimeter, him and Maxwell had been offered as extra security by the special cases unit due to the unique ley line convergence situation and they had been wholeheartedly accepted. They were even given some very nice accommodation and a certain percentage off at the food tents, which they were currently eating at.
“Nosy bastards.”
“Again, you should know that more than anyone.” Maxwell glared at Marshall and continued to eat the noodles. “You know we would probably have an easier time if you had your girlfriend with us.”
“She’s busy with other stuff. You know what they say, evil never sleeps and all that.”
“Right… Well, both the organisers and our bosses want us around for the opening ceremony tomorrow. You know, just in case anything from the fey realm decided to take advantage of the fact that there’s been a huge influx of people. After that we’re pretty much free to do what we want.”
“So I don’t have to do any work?” Marshall glared as Maxwell who smirked and finished off his food and then stood up to take a look outside. “Weather’s getting pretty nasty, do you want to stay here for now or sprint back to the accommodation?”
“I’m going to say wait for a little bit and if it’s more than a flash shower then we should head off.”
“Very fair…” Maxwell trailed off and continued staring outside the tent. “Keira’s here.”
“Possessed girl? What’s she doing here?”
“From the look of things she’s here as a participant…” Maxwell continued to stare outside the window. “Though she is currently eating a potato wedge sandwich from the Arian food tent.”
“No she’s not.” Marshall said with disgust, excusing himself from the table they were just sat at to look at what Keira was doing. “Oh. She is.”
“Try not to sound too disappointed. You would be surprised at how nice it can taste.”
“It’s not that. She could have chosen any culture… any food…” Marshall trailed off and ended up directing that disgusted look towards Maxwell instead. Then he went to sit back down, tugging Maxwell’s shoulder with him slightly.
“In any case, we shouldn’t engage. She’s here for a relaxing holiday and to not get bothered by us reminding her of whatever trauma she might have.”
“Would that be okay? She was involved in a case, in which case this might be important for her to hear about.”
“She’s cleared of anything supernatural so she shouldn’t interfere with the wards, hence there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”
“Then let’s wait here until we’re certain she’s gone then.”