Nick Tinsley led us back through several hallways. At some point, we left the dark and dingy ones and entered more populated, well-lit halls tracing across the complex. Seriously, the building had to have been at least a mile wide to fit however many small shops and rooms on this floor.

He narrated every bit along the way, talking about people by name, and reviewing all the major shops and restaurants. A little shop called Andre’s came highly recommended by the kid and apparently came cheap enough for him to afford on his small budget. It supposedly had the best food in the entirety of Talus Tower.

He was being oddly chatty with a couple of Crusaders; one even wearing potentially fear-inducing armor. It was… suspicious. Really, almost everything about this ‘Tens’ was suspicious from the very moment I spotted him.

After a bit, we left the populated areas once more, heading to a shadier section of the first floor. Not shady as in the abandoned area we originally came from, but shady as in seedy. We received several speculative looks, familiar ones I recognized from my jaunts around the city. Usually, I could just ignore them, but being out of my element in the confined halls made me a bit more nervous.

Not nearly as nervous as Nick though. He twitched several times a step, jittering around as he stepped one foot after another. He was practically sweating as he led us to whatever destination we were headed for. Sweating from guilt? Hmm… just in case, I rested a hand on my pistol-

Paranoia… was I being excessively paranoid right now? Was I about to start Glitching? Nick hadn’t done anything wrong so far, and had only been helpful… Still, his appearance and almost immediate guess was… I relaxed my hand on my gun, casually letting it fall to my side. Even if I was right, what would I do? Shoot the cripple? Well… yeah? And how much of this was caused by the Inquisitor's enchanted armor?

Just take a deep breath, Shiro. Maybe this isn’t Glitching, just normal old paranoia. I- I’ll stick it out longer and wait and see… or should I leave now? But then that could arouse some suspicions from the Crusader. Just a bit more. I’ll wait just a bit more and see…

Inquisitor Strumgard spoke as we passed through a dark alley- hallway, drawing me away from my introspection and to him. “The Jaeger is reacting.”

I looked down at the little bot who had diligently followed along behind us. Its nose pointed into the air, and little motors worked to scrape it back and forth to collect whatever scent it found. A few seconds later, it slammed its nose just above the ground and started to strut forward.

“That means it found something?” Nick asked as he allowed the bot to pass us by, quivering in his shoes.

“Of course.” Inquisitor Ligh Strumgard sneered coldly; at least, it sounded like a sneer. It was hard to tell, and his body language suggested a different emotion… almost relaxed? Damn, why was it so hard to get a read on this guy?

The Inquisitor took charge once more, leading us as the kid fell in between me and the Crusader. At least, he led the line of humans. He himself followed the Jaeger closely, not giving it any chance to run on ahead.

We turned down several hallways, leaving behind the area entirely for someplace else. What a mess. Seriously, I doubt even the original designer could move around this convoluted floor.

Tens slowed down in front of me, causing my pace to grind to a halt. Once the bot, who kept on at the same pace, left my ‘follow’ range, it froze up and looked back toward me. “We should be careful. The Storks are around these parts, and they aren’t the friendliest to strangers.”

I looked around, my nerves riding the edge even harder. “Storks?”

“Ah, sorry. They’re one of the many gangs in Talus Tower, though they are on the low end. Probably won’t even appear before the two of you though?” He smiled broadly, his leg twitching back the way we came.

We continued on, ignoring the steadily declining nature of the hallways and doorways. For the most part, the area was still inhabited, but occasionally we’d come across a collapsed door as we chased after the Jaeger.

Eventually, the Jaeger stopped before a door just like all the others in the hall. “This it?” Inquisitor Strumgard asked. “Weird… I expected shomething stronger?”

It was… about as I expected, in all honesty. Just like the security back at my place, sometimes low key was better than high key. The door blended in with the surroundings, and we definitely would’ve just walked on by if not for the Jaeger tracking down Drew’s scent.

“What’s the plan?” I asked as I looked around. The room was in an inconspicuous section of the hall, and no one was out and about.

Inquisitor Strumgard looked at me- at least, I think he did. His shiny face plate tilted in my direction. “What else? We go in.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Like this? Don’t we need a warrant or something?” If I could just B&E whenever as a Crusader, it really would be worth investing more into keeping the ‘shoe’ polished.

“Warrant? For this?” He looked up and down the hall as his body leaned back towards the door. “A bit of advice, Shquire, leave the red tape to the bureaucratsh.”

“Maybe I should go?” Nick Tinsley twitched as he took a slight step back.

The Inquisitor paused for a moment before looking at the kid. “Do you have an FIBB account?”

“‘Course! Who doesn’t in this day and age?” The kid told us his bank account information. He delta’d shortly after receiving a hundred Rayn, jittering all the way.

Huh... I dunno, I kinda expected something else than him just leaving? I guess it was just useless paranoia... again. It was really about time I learned better...

“Right, watch closely, Zuku…” The Inquisitor took a step back and took a deep breath. Then he dramatically flinched towards the door. “Oh no! A scream! Shomeone must be in danger!”

What scream? I didn’t hear a-

The door crashed into pieces as Inquisitor Strumgard charged through it. The cheap material easily crumpled before his bull charge, deforming out of the way as he entered the small space beyond the door.

The very small space, it turns out. Behind the door sat a hallway leading to yet another door. This one stood incomparable to the last, seemingly made of solid metal with several deadbolts scattered across its surface. Simple defenses, all things considered.

At least, that’s what I would’ve thought if Insight’s warning hadn’t arrived. I stared at the space, confused as to what triggered it as I felt an ethereal chill unlike what I’ve felt in the past. It took a few seconds before I flicked on Aetherial Perception and looked around.

The entire area between the two doors glowed with a faint green light. Unlike the enchantments across the Inquisitor's armor, whatever sat in the area was far more passive. Almost as if it was asleep? “Sir, maybe we should-”

“What?” Inquisitor Strumgard turned to me, his foot catching on a chunk of the previous door. Just as I reached to stabilize him, he flopped backward into the green area. Mid-fall, what looked to be two dozen vines of some kind struck from the walls all over, whipping the entire area.

As if the Inquisitor was some kind of acrobat, his body flopped to the ground. The dozens of vines struck towards him, missing entirely as he pinwheeled his arms and legs to try and regain balance. The vines brushed past his limbs, barely missing as the vines slammed into the walls opposite their starting points. Without having any effect, the vines nearly instantly wilted and disappeared into a cloud of black dust. The Inquisitor hit the ground, not a single vine having touched him, with a low grunt.

“Sir!” Thank you for going in front of me and eating that trap! “Are you okay?”

He sprung back to his feet, moving surprisingly agile as he regained his intimidating aura. “Of course! I was just… dodging that trap! Take notes, Shquire.”

Dodging? Though it was impressive… how lucky to get through the trap entirely unharmed. Maybe I need to be around this guy more? Get some of his luck to rub off on me and all that.

He quickly turned back to the mission, approaching the door. His silver armor gleamed as he shifted in place, rubbing at his chin- err, at the base of his mask. “Hmm…”

“I could pick the lock?” I approached the door, making it past the small area with the now defunct vine trap.

The Inquisitor paused mid-step as he headed for the door. “Yeah…. It would be easier than knocking it down... Go ahead, Shquire.”

I moved to it and slid my backpack over my shoulder. After a few seconds of searching through it, I withdrew my lockpick set and started to work on the door. I easily manipulated the tumblers, flicking through them with ease as I opened the first lock.

From there, it was a simple process of repetition. One after another, I flicked open the tumblers, clicking them open. The final one soon came and passed as the door gave one final click. The door slowly edged open.

Inquisitor Strumgard moved past me, entering Drew’s second stash. I followed shortly after, the Jaeger trailing behind the both of us as its mechanical tail swung back and forth. Maybe I should get one? They were damn useful, especially in this circumstance.

The area beyond the final door was entirely messy. I had to peek over the Inquisitor’s shoulder, taken aback by the sheer quantity of loot scattered about. Bits and pieces sat everywhere, several of them standing out as high-quality items. It looked as though the guy had agreed to a housewarming party, in which each person unwittingly brought an expensive-looking gift to the owner.

“Touch nothing, Shquire. Just look for evidence.” The Inquisitor turned back and put the Jaeger in guard mode just outside of the door.

I stared around at the mess of a room. “Evidence of what, sir?”

“Anything suspicious.” He said.

Well that really narrowed things down, now didn't it? I walked around the room looking at the loot everywhere. Most, if not all, of the items on display were probably stolen. I’d bet my arm on it.

Thanks to that minor fact, everything looked suspicious to my eyes as I swept the place for any other details. Nothing immediately stood out, other than the loot screaming ‘steal me’, ‘course. Most of the items seemed to be a completely random assortment, though I did notice quite a few marked with gang logos, such as a fancy-looking cigar box marked with the laughing jester skull of the Neo-Jokers. There were even several symbols I didn’t recognize.

There was also an offering of guns thrown about as if the guy hadn’t cared about them. Assuming he was the one who set the vine trap, he probably didn’t. Why would a Magus need guns when they had magic? Well, other than as a backup.

Bookshelves lined the walls, holding most of the loot and stacks of books haphazardly tossed to the side. A couple of them were even stuffed full of designer drugs and pieces of chrome.

Just in case, I inspected the area with Aetherial Perception, but the trap by the door seemed to be the only one. The only thing triggering my perception was the lowly items every now and then amongst the mess.

Nothing really stood out to me-

Insight’s cool chill granted me a hint, one I followed as my eyes dropped to one of the bookcases lining the walls. It was faint, almost invisible, and buried under a pile of clothes, but there were small marks on the ground as if the shelf had been moved.

“Sir?” I called the Inquisitor and hesitantly headed over to it.