“Are you shure?” Inquisitor Strumgard asked.

I shifted the phone against my ear, motioning to Feras and Torren as they entered Big Mike’s. “Yes, sir. I have to go now. I’ll be out of contact for a while until I tie up some loose ends.”

”Right… I’ll round up a shquad. Meet me at the War Room in the HQ in an hour. It’sh about time we busted this bashtard.” The Inquisitor hung up as I slid my burner phone into my pocket.

The two approached me, both already changed out of their school uniforms and back into normal attire. Of course, I also had on my tech jacket, ballistic vest, and pants once more. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had time to patch them up so there were still bullet holes in my clothes. Or merc style as some people call it.

”Tie up loose ends?” Feras asked. He looked unconcerned, but his posture looked slightly unsteady. I couldn’t quite tell if it was thanks to his injured side he was holding or from a sudden flight instinct.

I nodded my head to the duo. “I think I figured it out.”

Torren waved at Big Mike, flashing some kind of sign toward the large chef. The chef nodded to him, a malicious look in his eyes as he fired up the grill. “Oh?”

I eyed the guy. He looked quite a bit more energized now that he was out of the school- rather, now that he was outside the field of the plants. “Did you guys notice anything strange about the school?”

Torren slid into the booth, Feras wincing directly behind him as he followed. The grifter frowned as he rubbed his side. “Other than none of the cases having solid connections outside of SPS? Hmm…” A slow hand traced an imprint of a shoe still bruising his face as he flinched. “The students seemed quite a bit more hostile than what I would expect, even considering the status of the school.”

”They were quite hostile… the jocks and guys in PE were particularly loaded with testosterone, it seemed.” Torren shrugged. “But that’s just school for you.”

”Is it?” I thought back to it. “The people I met seemed extraordinarily affectionate towards me. Like, to the point of obsession. Even some of the ones I never spoke to.”

On top of that, though I’d never admit it, all too frequently my act wasn’t quite an act. That sentiment only grew stronger with every day that passed. It was almost as if my inner emotions were set to ten instead of the solid three I tried to keep them at.

”What are you getting at?” Feras asked as he tried to get more comfortable. It was unfortunately difficult for the guy considering Torren took up well over half the booth.

I glanced around the room, thankfully the restaurant was empty outside of Big Mike who was too busy cooking to pay attention. I didn’t want to reveal anything yet, instead opting to get their unbiased opinions. “We can all claim hormones as the reason for everyone being so… emotional. What if there was more to it?”

Feras’s frown deepened as his eyes took on a speculative look. “It would explain some things. For instance, how quick they were to beat the shit out of me- and even send someone after me with a knife…”

”I guess?” Torren frowned. “Still just seems like a typical school. What’s bringing this on?

I leaned forward, dropping my voice to a whisper. “I was interrogated by the principal today.”

The mood at the table turned icy in a mere moment. Torren locked up, his voice sounding oddly terse. “In what way?”

Feras raised a finger, pausing the conversation as he pulled out his fox amulet. The silver piece glinted in the neon lights shining through the windows as he twisted it around. A look of focus passed over his face for the briefest of moments, the concentration fading as Insight warned me of a shift in the atmosphere.

I flicked on Aetherial Perception as a rift opened up, the back side of it appearing completely transparent. From the rift stepped a small fox. Its tail waved cutely as it looked around the table. It paused for a moment of me, a look of joy passing through its eyes.

Feras followed the sprite’s gaze, locking onto me as I tried to pretend I couldn’t see anything. A frown crossed his lips, almost immediately being obscured by Cues of pain as he lightly touched his side. They looked too convincing to tell if they were fake.

He motioned with his hand as his gaze locked back onto the fox. The fox tilted its head towards the Magus, seeming to listen intently for a moment before ethereal energy coalesced around its fur. The energy expanded rapidly, creating a bubble around us.

”What’d you do?” Torren asked, his hand caressing a ring around his finger lightly. I was a bit surprised he noticed, but on second thought the guy was an Adept. He could probably feel any kind of shift in the Aether.

”Anti-Spy Scryer's Bubble.” Feras shrugged. “It’ll block all sound or signals from getting out. Anything we say will sound like we’re talking about the weather.”

I frowned at the Magus, though the frown vanished as I watched the fox do a cute little twirl and vanish back into a rift. “Why didn’t you do this the last few times?”

“I just learned over the weekend.” Feras looked taken aback slightly. “My Shrinemaiden couldn’t teach me till I gained more Favor. Wasn’t too hard. For some reason, my Favor has been skyrocketing recently.”

I raised a hand, waving it towards the grifter. “Woah, woah, woah, slow down just a sec. What was all of this about a Shrinemaiden and Favor?”

“Ugh…” Feras looked confused for a moment. “Oh, sorry. Forgot most people still weren’t aware of how it all works… okay, after a Magus contracts with an Eidolon, they can summon sprites to cast magic. Following?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Chek.”

“A Magus can only cast magic they know, and to learn more takes what we call Favor. Typically, it’s cheaper to spend Favor with a Shrinemaiden than it is to ‘buy’ a Revelation. Favor is- it’s like a currency between Magi of the same Eidolon.”

”Stupidly complicated if you ask me.” Torren shrugged. “Adepts are so much easier. Just read a Tome. Done.”

My brain felt like it was expanding a thousandfold under the way they just casually talked about growing in power. And here I thought I was the special one with my Interface that made me work my ass off for even a hint of strength… Torren can literally just read to grow stronger. What dumb shit was that?

And what was up with this Shrinemaiden still? Fox had a shrine? Wait- for that matter, did the other eidolons have shrines? How come I never knew of this before-

「Request - Favored Shrine - Received

* Five Eidolons have requested you visit their shrine first

* Reward: dependent on which one you go to」

I felt a migraine build up in my head as even more shit slumped onto my plate. As if almost being brainwashed wasn’t bad enough. Could this day get any worse- Oh wait! For one blissful moment, I almost forgot I had to go to the freakin’ War Room with the Inquisitor! Dammit, Shiro! You really know how to screw yourself! Why can’t you ever just-

Feras coughed lightly. “Anyway, you were interrogated?”

Right, I could think about all this later- woah, Deja Vu.

“I should’ve noticed sooner, but the plants all over the school are-“ I paused for a moment, picking my words carefully so as not to reveal the full extent of Aetherial Perception, “-weird. Either you guys notice your emotions becoming more volatile around certain areas or you suddenly grow sleepy around others?”

Torren’s voice sounded hard as something clicked behind his eyes. “Like today.”

I nodded. “Like today. I was already under their effect when I was summoned to his office. He used the plants to put me in a trance-like state, one in which I was compelled to answer him. I barely got out without revealing anything.”

“Some kind of genetic pheromone manipulation maybe? It’s not a Magus at least. The Aether only has Eidolons… err, mostly. There are the Fallen and Remnants too, but uh- probably not them. I doubt either have high enough intelligence to do anything like this.”

Interesting… Fallen and Remnants, eh? Here I though the Aether was only sprites and the eidolons… hmm… something to look into if I find the time…

Torren leaned back, dropping a hand to rub his side lightly. “Hmm… I’ve read of this. I’m focused on wind, so I’m not very up-to-date on it, but there’s an entire branch of plant-based spells. I’d have to go and take a look, but it could be an Adept’s doing.”

Thanks for the input guys! Not like I didn't already know all of that... useless. Well, mostly useless. I filed that tidbit about Fallen and Remnants away, whatever they were. Something else to look into when I get the time. “Regardless- Could it be possible none of the disappearances were related since they were all individuals? That the plants acted as a sort of accelerant on the homicidally minded?” I asked.

Feras shrugged. “Possibly.”

Our conversation paused for a moment as Big Mike came carrying a mountain of pizza-sized burgers into the area of Feras’s Anti-Scry Spying Bubble or whatever it was called. He shot a triumphant look to Torren before sauntering off back to the counter. It was… an odd look on the big guy.

Torren’s eyes lit up, and it looked like he only barely managed to hold himself back. “It could go deeper. You said yourself that you were in a trance state. Could he be causing the disappearances? I mean, think about it. Claire didn’t even know her best friend.”

“My thoughts exactly.” I shrugged. I didn’t mention knowing about him experimenting or ‘The Circle’ since I wasn’t sure how much Inquisitor Lightstrum wanted to keep under wraps. That, and I didn’t want to reveal a deeper connection to this whole thing.

To me, though, that knowledge only solidified that the disappearances were sick acts of experimentation. It made sense. The kids would be easy targets. Of course the creepy black organization would be messing around with brainwashing and mind control.

Feras piped up as Torren dug into the burgers. “If it's only as deep as magically enhanced hypnosis, we might be able to break it given the right situation. See for sure.”

I checked the time. Just enough to run by my apartment before heading to the Crusade HQ. “Yeah… regardless, we need to stop attending the school to avoid the plant’s effects. You have Claire’s number?”

Torren nodded around a mouthful of food, swallowing it down. “Chek chek. I could… call and ask her to meet me? Then we put her in the right situation and break the hypnosis?”

Feras spoke up, a frown deeply embedded in his face. “What if Claire was forced to kill Quora?”

“What do you mean?” Torren’s eyebrows knit together.

Feras paused for a moment, nodding his head. “Right, I spoke to some of the other friends of disappeared students in my time. Only about half of them were in similar states.”

So then they aren’t all mind wiped. I lightly rubbed a cold spot on my arm. “Then why wipe the memories of only half?”

“Maybe they only needed to wipe the memories of half.” Feras tapped his knuckles on the table. “Maybe only half were involved in the murders of their friends. Think about it.”

Torren put a bit of burger down, a look of seriousness in his eyes. “We don’t know for sure they’re all dead-

“Think they’re still alive?” Feras interrupted.

Torren glared at the grifter lightly, continuing as if he hadn’t said anything. “But if he had the power to force a someone into killing their choom, why use it against students?”

“To test it.” I piped up, carefully picking over my words. “Maybe it’s unstable, or maybe it’s only good against kids. Hell, I broke out of it, so it isn’t foolproof. At least not yet.”

“Regardless, we need to try and break Claire out of it. See if we can’t find out more from her. Our guesses will only be that at the end of the day: guesses.”

I was fairly certain Quora was dead. The idea that Claire killed her made sense, but I could see what he was saying. “We‘re trying to paint with only half a brush.”

“Chek, but weird way of putting it. I could cast minor illusions around her of Quora. Try and force her to remember.” Feras offered.

“You can do that?” I asked. I really didn’t know much about either of their magical capabilities, do I?

He shrugged. “Yeah, but they aren’t very strong. Visual and audial only.”

“Like a ghost,” I said. “Might be able to shatter the hypnosis if she saw the ghost of her dead friend. Her dead friend she potentially murdered.”

Torren sighed, quietly muttering. “We don’t know that yet…”

Ferras snagged a slice of one of the massive burgers in the stack. “I’ll let the clients know… Damn… they’ll probably want to be there when this goes down.”

“They’re not gonna… like… kill Claire, right?” I asked. “Because if we’re right, then it technically wasn’t her fault.”

Ferras eyed me, a flash of the city’s neon reflecting in his eyes. “Our job is just to find the killer, not to worry about what happens after.”

“Chek, chek…” I stood up, grabbing a slice of burger as I slid out of the booth. “Sounds good to me. We can get the minor details some other time. I really need to get going.”

”Oh, another date?” Feras asked as he smiled cheekily. Another mask if I had to guess. His expression and posture were slightly tense.

”With Death.” I sighed as I headed for the exit, giving Big Mike a wave as I did. The last thing I saw of the restaurant was Big Mike’s stubby arm and wide smile as I stepped out onto the neon streets.