“What the hell Gavin” Rika whispered to herself as she slid her phone into her pocket. This call, like every other, had gone answered. She had waited up all night for him after he sounded all worked up when he called her. Ghosting her, not returning her calls, and his store being locked tight during opening hours, this wasn’t like him at all. Something was wrong.
Rika knocked once more on the glass of the front door, but she knew that she would get no response. Circling to the back of the building, staff in hand, she gripped it with both hands as she prepared her death detection spell. Plenty of insects, rodents, even the body of an elderly man laying in bed a few buildings down, but no sign of a corpse from Gavin. Where ever he was, it wasn’t nearby.
Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out several crystals. Formerly empty mana crystals, they served as a handy tool to bind and carry around weaker spirits. Letting her mana flow into each of the crystals, they glowed slightly as several apparitions appeared around her. “You, unlock this door for me. The rest search the area for any traces of mana” she ordered as the spirits dispersed. A second later, the back door clicked as the lock was undone.
She searched the front of the store for any signs of a fight or struggle, but nothing seemed out of place. As she entered Gavin's personal office she heard that the TV was still playing the news channel. On his desk was just bookkeeping paperwork. Nothing unusual here either. One of her spirits phased into the room, informing her that small amounts of mana were detectable in a nearby parking garage.
She followed the spirit out of the store and to Gavin's car, discovering his keys still hanging from the lock. Besides that and a tiny amount of detectable mana, there was no trace of him or where he had gone.
“Hey, necromancer!” Someone shouted from across the garage. Rika turned towards the pair of men walking towards her.
“Figures Venetis would be involved in some way. Are you responsible for Gavin's disappearance?”
“Gavin? No, though if he’s dead he got what he deserved for associating with you. One of our own is missing, and it's got the big man real pissed. He saw you snooping around and sent us to tell you off” one of the men explained, pointing his finger in the air for effect. Rika looked up and, sure enough, there he was, floating high above the city.
Focusing her mana as her feet left the ground Rika propelled herself into the sky. “Hey” the men shouted after her, but she ignored them as she climbed higher.
“Next time come talk to me yourself instead of sending your goons" Rika said as she approached the man hovering above her. Despite the signs of old age he had a remarkably sturdy and muscular build, and gave off an aura of authority. Rika couldn’t sense it from the ground, but up close she could feel strong mana flowing from him in various directions. He was scanning the city.
“Rika, it’s been a long time. You seem well” The man said without turning his head to face her.
“I’m surprised to see you in public. Isn’t something like this beneath your stature?” Rika inquired.
“It’s been bad enough that someone has been undermining the authority of Venetis, but to go so far as to target one of my own, is an unforgivable slight against me. When I find the person responsible, the full might of Venetis will come crashing down on their heads. If Gavin is still alive he will be rescued, so you should leave this to me.”
Rika clenched her jaw “Leave it to you and your shitty guild? After everything that happened with the Lich of Salem? Give me a break.”
The man's head turned slightly in her direction “Watch your tone, it is only out of respect for your late master’s sacrifice that I still allow you to practice in this country. But my mercy has its limits.”
“Gavin is my friend,” Rika said, ignoring the man's threat “And I owe him a lot of favors anyways, so I won’t just sit on the sideline.” Rika began to fly away.
“If you insist on chasing after this, you might not like what you find.” The man turned his full attention towards Rika.
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“You know who’s responsible don’t you?” Rika asked.
“I have my suspicions. For your sake, sit this one out.” The man's face was stern and hard to read, but Rika thought it had softened ever so slightly.
“Thanks, but I can take care of myself. If you won’t tell me who it is I will figure it out on my own.” Rika turned to leave again.
“One last thing” He called out again to Rika.
“What now?” She said, turning back to him.
“Clayton Diamont, I know Gavin sent him your way. He’s being hunted by the NDSA, charged with quite a few counts of murder. But what really got them worked up is that he apparently was able to use spells in a warded room.”
“That’s not possible.”
“I didn’t think so either, considering I designed those wards. I take it his abilities aren’t mana based, am I right?” Rika didn’t respond, which the man took as confirmation of his assumption. “I figured. Anyways, consider turning him in.” The man focused his attention back on scanning the city below as Rika flew away.
…
“You’re drawing too much attention. The Orc invasion is still thirteen days away.” The Elf flinched as he felt the mana of the man flying in the sky pass over him. Even if they were just human, fighting the full force of Venetis wasn’t exactly appealing.
“It’s fine, he won't detect us in here. All the pieces are coming together, the NDSA is no longer a threat. There’s just one obstacle still in my way.” The elf gave the man a look of disdain, if you could even call him a man. He looked and talked like one, but to the elf he was something beneath even humans.
“About the NDSA, they are closing in on one of my targets.” The elf produced two pictures, one of Clay and Uriana, handing them to the man. “Disrupt their affairs before they get too close, and let me know if you find them.”
“Should I kill them?” The man asked curiously.
“No, my orders are to bring the girl back to my superiors.” The elf replied.
“And the boy?”
“They boy I intend to kill myself.” The elf began walking away.
“Well, I’ll do my best, but no promises they won’t get killed in the crossfire.” The man watched as the elf exited the room, before turning back to the window, looking up at the man in the sky. He watched with interest as a second figure joined him. Seeing her there gave him pangs of regret, but it was fleeting.
He turned away from the window, instead focusing on the two corpses that lay before him. The binding was nearly complete, though these particular summons weren’t anything all that impressive. They would just be more fodder. The man waved his hands as the bodies teleported away, joining the others in the basement below.
“It’s almost time.”
…
“What do you mean you’re not going to help?” Cedric sat across from the Chief of the Raleigh branch of the NDSA.
“It’s like I said, we have our hands full here already, I can’t afford to commit resources towards your little manhunt. You guys should just pack up and head home.”
Cedric stormed out of the office. Rivalries between the different branches were one thing, but he had never seen a flat-out refusal to support another branch. He pulled out his cell phone, scrolling to his superior officer's contact information.
“Yeah they refuse to help, won’t even let us borrow an office. Should we head back?” Cedric asked into his phone.
“Absolutely not,” the voice on the other end replied. “These orders are coming down from the top, I don’t give a damn what their branch head says. Get a hotel room or something to operate out of for now, I’m going to make some calls and get heads rolling. Be careful, until we get this sorted you’re basically on your own out there.”
Cedric returned to Valerie and the others as they left the branch office to begin their investigations. They had received some credible tips from a bus driver and a few store owners that Clay was in the area. Their hunt was about to begin.
…
Clay strolled up to Rika's front door as he finished eating his sandwich. After being able to take a hot shower, change into some fresh clothes, and sleep like a baby in his motel room, he was feeling refreshed and even a little excited for the day ahead. He knocked on the door, causing it to open unexpectedly.
“Rika” Clay called out as he closed the door behind him. Clay slowly walked towards Rika’s office. “Rika? It’s Clay, you here?”
Clay opened the door to her office, stepping inside. The next thing he knew, he was entrapped in a very tight barrier prison. “Shit!”
“You haven’t been very honest with me kid" he heard Rika say from behind.