Kint straightened his shoulders a bit, tightening the knot of his purple tie in the front hallway mirror. He ran a hand through his shoulder length hair, pushing it's graying locks behind his ears. He brushed two fingers across his stubbled cheeks, reflecting on his decision not to shave. The first of many decisions he'd have to make today.
"You look good Papa." His daughter commented, waiting for him by the door. She offered up two gleaming apples for his lunch. He gave her a little smile, secreting them away in the pockets of his newly pressed coat.
"Thank you sweetheart." Kint replied, taking another glance in the mirror to adjust his tie. The uncomfortable pressure it created at his throat reminded him of a man from many years ago, the focus in his wizened eyes were that man's too.
Today is a day of decisions. He thought. He didn't know what they would be, but he knew they had to be made. He was on the precipice of a turning. The clouds had crept in like snakes in the dark. Now a storm had settled overhead, and all he could do was rise meet it.
He threw a smile on as he looked down toward his daughter. "Ready to go?" He asked.
She nodded, and Kint opened the door to the waiting visage of his partner and her niece.
"You're looking bright today Kaycee." Kint complimented, pointing out the girls exuberantly colored dress of overlapping floral patters.
"I've always been bright, Inspector Kint." The girl chastised, "I'm just wearing the dress to match."
He gave Elsha a raised eyebrow, his partners fitted black suite and tie drawing stark contrast to her relative.
"She's more dangerous every day." Kint joked, receiving a feline smile in return.
"We make them that way in the Ignatium." She replied.
"I'm beginning to see that." The old inspector said flatly.
"Master Kint." A small voice cut in to his right. "Auntie El, tells me that you had the chance to visit the Ignatium yesterday, is that correct?" The blonde girl asked.
"Yes." Kint replied hesitantly, throwing a glance toward Elsha.
"And you survived?" The girl asked, with an exaggerated innocence.
"I did." The inspector smirked.
"Then perhaps now you have seen that the Ignatium is not so terrible, and can find it in your heart to allow Nessa to come and visit me for a sleep away?" The little girl asked, big eyes opened wide with pleading.
Kint gave Elsha a concerned glance. This is your doing. He said with his eyes. She gave him a small shrug in return. Kint looked down to his daughter, whose face was a mix of shock and accusation.
"I was going to tell you last night, but..." He trailed off, and Nessa seemed to understand. Any other time he would have told her about a surprise visit to the Silver Spires, but a lot had happened last night.
Kint felt a prickle at the back of his neck as his daughter's face quickly changed to mirror the innocence of her friend. Kint realized then that she would be capitalizing on his guilt.
"Can I Papa? Please?" She asked ever so politely. "Can I please spend the night at Kaycee's?"
Kint took in a thoughtful breath through his nose. He looked to Elsha, who spoke up.
"It really is the safest place for a child." She said. Cringing immediately as Kint gave her a heavy look.
"She'll be fine." Elsha assured him, her expression more earnest. Kint considered his partners words for a long moment, sparing glances for the two begging children beside him.
After drawing the suspense to a crescendo, he sighed.
"Alright." He grumbled, arms folded over his chest, "How would this work?" He asked, receiving astonished looks from all three girls.
"Really?" They said in unison.
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"Well that was unexpected." Elsha commented, as the two Inspectors parted ways with their young charges. The details of Nessa's Sleepaway having been sorted. "What made you change your mind?"
The curmudgeonly Inspector wrinkled his eyes as the sun burned down through the morning fog.
"I don't know." he pondered, looking up toward where a spark of sunlight shone through the morning fog. "Today just feels like a day for change."
His partner looked at him, raised eyebrows causing canyons of concern to ripple on her forehead. After a quick examination of his stoic expression, she eventually looked foreword again.
"Well I'm not complaining." She started, "That girl needs a little change in her life, she's too stiff by half."
Kint gave a non-committal grunt, in reply.
"I mean, you've already seen the excitement that can be had in the Canopy." She teased, giving him a sly smile. "I'm sure they'll get into all sorts of fun up there."
"I'm regretting this decision already." He grumbled, as the fog lifted and the streets grew livelier.
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The conversation died down as they walked, with all the details of the Sleep Away worked out, the only thing left to think about was the looming specter of the Black Seal.
Elsha tried to bring it up a couple of times, obviously not enjoying the anxious silence as they made their way to HQ. But Kint's words on the matter were sparse, his responses unsatisfying. He had much on his mind as well, and did not wish share any of thoughts before they had ripened.
The tension that had built during their walk, was dissipated quickly when they turned a corner arriving at the District Square. The two black clad inspectors paused in the center of the street that opened up into the square, taking in the crowd before them. On the left was the usual grouping of Merchant's and Financiers gathering for the morning missives at the Guild. But in the center of the square was a crowd of far more common stock. Over a hundred people in mostly laborers ragged browns and grays, milled about in front of District HQ. Even from their distance, Kint was picking up the scent of body odor and cloths washed only in water. The usual screams and cries of the wealthy trading their wares were battling with the low murmur of the pensive crowd.
The two groups were close enough to rub up against each other. Kint watched as a bookish merchant in green robes, accidentally shuffled into a stout laborer from the opposing crowd, knocked to the floor by the man's density. The merchant stood sharply, like he wanted to have a words with the larger man, but the heat of the his temper was quelled by the look of challenge in the laborers eyes. "My mistake." Was all the slender man said, as he scurried away. The wizened inspector was quick to note the deep purple circles and red rims of the working man's gaze. Kint had a feeling that if he met the eyes of every laborer in the square, most of them would have those same exhausted features.
Kint noticed another bit of ruckus closer to the HQ building. "Looks like Him and Hal have finally caught on." He noted. His partner glancing over to see the twins questioning a group laborers, one of them aggressively gesturing toward a sheaf of paper in his hand.
"Doesn't look like they're having much luck with that lot." Elsha commented. The men and women in the vicinity of the twins were all giving them that same challenging look the merchant had received. Kint was not surprised to see that many of the people in the crowd had similar missives poking out of pockets or held in clenched fists.
The murmur of the gathering masses died away like a receding tide, as a figure in purest white robes, rose slowly above their heads. It seemed todays Crier would be speaking from a podium. It wasn't a very tall structure, perhaps 3 feet above the ground, but it allowed the two Inspectors to see the Holy man clearly from their distant vantage.
"We got our old crier back." Elsha noted, as they both recognized the slender Preacher. It was the District's original Crier, but this time he struck a far more strident figure than that of the anxious youth he'd seemed only a few days ago. Where his shoulders had been slouched before, he stood to his full height now. His presence such that as he crested the podium, he had only to lift a hand and the waiting crowd fell silent. Even the Merchant's corner grew still, feeling the shifting mood of the square was not to be argue with.
The newly minted Crier let the moment of silence gather weight, the square grew so quiet that one could almost hear the dissipation of the morning's fog as it was seared away by the sun. The young Crier looked around, his large nose, which had once been a mark on his face, now seeming dignified in his confident air. Eventually, he felt his moment come, and slowly closed his raised hand into a fist.
"Restraint." He said, voice carrying across the motionless crowd with ease. He moved his other hand out by his side, opening his palm to the sky. "Chaos." He finished. Leaving closed fist and open hand still in the air.
"Restraint." He said again, shaking his fist in the air. "Restraint is the guiding Principle of the Prophet and his people." He began, "It is the secret power that marks every great Kadenite's life. It is the holy charge that allows a society spanning three continents to stick together... Restraint." He repeated that word, shaking his fist at every mention of it.
"Restraint... is a concept of such power, that the Holy Prophet weaved it into every one of his five Tenets." He opened his fist now, splitting his five fingers apart to exaggerate each one, raising the open hand above the crowd for all to see. He pointed to his smallest finger. "The First Tenet, 'For the good of all'. 'Restrain' yourself from personal pleasures and make every decision with eyes toward the wellbeing of all people." He pulled that little finger down, pointing to the next one. "The Second, 'Peace is found in Calloused hands.'... 'Peace'.... Not happiness... Not Pleasure... Not Power... 'Peace' is the goal. And to have it you must restrain yourself. You must put your hands to the plow to support your friends, your family, your community, all that would give you 'Peace'" He pulled the second finger down. "The Third is obvious." He stated, pulling that one down as well. "The Fourth, 'Stewardship over the blessings of today, to protect against the Miracles of tomorrow.' 'Stewardship'... it is not enough just to cherish our blessings, but we must be stewards of them, we must protect them." He emphasized the last words still holding up his pointer finger and thumb. "Protect them against 'Miracles'... 'the easy fix', the poorly thought through idea, getting something for nothing. We must protect against these things... we must show 'Restraint'." He closed his final finger, leaving only his thumb remaining. "The Fifth..." The words were only whispered, yet it they carried across the entire courtyard. The brow of every man and woman in the crowd furrowing that little bit more. "The Fifth should be obvious... I shouldn't even have to say it..." And he didn't say it, he let the fifth tenet go unspoken, but it's weight hung heavy over the crowd. "Any one of us could be struck with 'Sin'... Unless... we show... 'Restraint'" He closed that final finger and shook his fist once again.
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"For 'Restraint is the Bulwark of Man, Chaos the Aether of Destruction.'" He finally spoke the Prophets Third Tenet into the air. Raising his fist again to say "Restraint", then motioning the still open palm of his left hand "Chaos". He finished.
"When I look around this crowd, I see men and women with stalwart faces and calloused hands." He started, waving a hand over the motionless crowd. "I see stewards over the blessings of family and friends. Protectors all, over what we have built in this fine city, this once blasted district...But I also see... Anxiety..." A rustle went through the crowd like windblown leaves. "Frustration... exhaustion... I see a hundred days of sleepless nights etched in your eyes." The rustle grew louder, the Crier speaking their unvoiced thoughts into the open. "I see Chaos." He punctuated the thought.
"I don't like where this is going." Elsha commented, a look of consternation on her face.
Kint glanced over toward the twins and saw that they were watching the Crier intently with the same look as his partner.
"Let's move in closer." Kint grumbled, stepping cautiously into the crowd, not checking to see if his partner would follow.
"But why?" The Crier started again, cocking his head to one side. "How? How can it be that such a crowd... such a blessed group of Kadenites... Who show restraint in every movement of every day... How can there be such Chaos when every single one of you is a Bulwark against it?" He asked, a hint of exasperation coming into his raised voice.
Kint could feel the tension rising in the crowd as he pushed past the listeners with the lightest touch.
"I'll tell you how..." The Slender man said, quieting the onlookers. "The Chaos... It does not come from here. It comes from the outside... It comes... from above!" He shouted the final words, pointing an accusatory finger toward the Stalwart Tree rising high above District HQ. The crowds restless murmurs rose, voices rising in open questions.
"Oh Fuck." Elsha exclaimed, as the crowd shook with agitation. "We have to arrest him now."
"I know." Kint replied, distractedly, having to yell over the press of the crowd. "Come on." He pushed further in, they were only three rows of people away from their target.
"Every day you all work tirelessly at the behest of our lord. You mass produce his ingenious creations... you make 'Miracles' for him!" He shouted over the rumblings of the crowd. "Your calloused hands bring miracles forth to the Ignatium, while your hard won foundations crack beneath your feet! The Chaos is creeping from below!"
Kint finally broke through to the front of the stage moving around toward the stairs. The crowd was raucous now. The Criers words having riled them up. It didn't feel to Kint like they all agreed with the man's sentiments exactly, but they were shocked that he'd actually aired them in the open like this. Now a furious discussion was waging behind the aged inspector as he crested the stairs.
"Heed my words good Kadenites. District 13 has been tainted by its masters Sins." The man finished, before turning calmly to meet the Inspector.
"You're going to have to come with me." Kint stated over the shouts and yells from the crowd.
"Of course, Inspector." The man said, holding his hands forward for Elsha to clamp metal clasps around them. Kint motioned for the man to lead the way, pointing to the columned entrance of HQ as their destination.
As they moved down into the crowd, the people parted away from them, many yelling at and questioning the young Priest.
"Who are you to question our Lord!" An exhausted Merchant Spat.
Elsha pushed anyone back who got too close.
"What do you know that we don't!" A large man asked, trying to push through to the Crier, and receiving a fist to the gut from Elsha in turn.
"Save us!" Came the word of an elderly woman as they made it through to the HQ stairs.
Climbing, Kint turned to Elsha, "I need you to keep the Twins off us for a bit." He shouted over the noise of the mob.
His partner looked at him with a confused expression, but nodded that she would do it.
Elsha opened one of the double doors as Kint pushed the Crier inside. The noise dulled to a low hum behind them.
He moved quickly, grabbing the Priest by the robes and pushing him firmly down the entry stairs toward the holding cells. He heard the entryway open again above him as Him and Hal burst in, but Elsha cut them off.
"The Fuck are you doing Cunt? Move." Hal commanded.
"Not this time boys." She replied in a glib tone. "We got to him first, we get to have first crack."
"Fuck does that mean?" Him questioned. "He might have information about a case we're working on."
"Sorry kids... you'll have to take it up with Fezzi." Elsha finished. Kint could hear an indignant growl from both twins as he moved down another level. But despite their harsh words, neither of the brothers had the skills or the balls to argue with the beautiful enforcer. After a few more seconds it seemed the tension had passed, and Kint could hear his partners footsteps chasing behind him.
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Elsha closed the door quietly as she entered the interrogation room.
"I don't know what we're doing here Kint." She said, turning toward him with a curious expression. "But I've probably bought you a couple minutes... maybe ten."
"Fair enough." He replied, observing as his partner chose to stand leaning against the dark iron door as opposed to sitting in the steel chair beside him. Her feline features enhanced by the blue light above. Just like always, her gaze weighed his every movement.
Kint looked across the sterile steel table, meeting the unconcerned eyes of the Morning's Crier. While time ran short, he took a moment to absorb the visage of the man across from him. Drinking in every detail of his face. From his combed over dark hair, to his long sharp chin... the way the shadows of the two blue crystal lights above accentuated the skeletal qualities of this hollow cheeks. The tight skin around those cheeks moved as the young zealot smiled.
"You're exactly as I thought you'd be." The younger man started, a joyful look on his face.
Kint raised an eyebrow at the youth. "You know me?" He asked accusingly, remembering the odd look the crier had given him the day before last.
"Of course." The serene Crier replied, drawing an inquisitive look from Elsha. "I've been here for six months now Master Kint, so yes I know you. I know you in your slouched shoulders. Although you seem to be made of sterner stuff today. I know you from the way you slither through the courtyard in hopes you won't see anyone you know. And of course... I know you because you've listened to every one of my Sermons, even though you think I have not seen it."
Kint could feel Elsha's eyes widen at this new revelation from the preacher, her predatory smile creeping toward her ears.
"You're a lot cockier than I remember." The Inspector Grumbled.
"Well... The word finds us all at Different times... Right inspector." The man gave a slight shrug, his own quiet smile never wavering as he spoke.
Kint ground his teeth in annoyance at the lad. This brat probably didn't know anything important, but he certainly acted like he did.
"And who's word is that Boy?" Kint ground out the words, "The Sentinel?"
The crier shook his head as if he'd heard a joke, "Oh no. The Prophet of course. The Sentinel is just... an Inspiration." He mused.
"Hmph." The inspector grimaced. "You're 'inspiration' is causing a lot of problems in the District."
The young man cocked his head as if thinking deeply about something. Before saying "These are anxious times Inspector... I suspect the Sentinel is not at the top of your list of worries."
"You're right, it's not." Kint confirmed, leaning forward across the table to pull closer to the gaunt youth. "In fact, I recently had to arrest a real shit heel of a holy man today." The Inspector Parried, "for flouting the Authority of the Apostles."
The young man shook his head to one side, seeding the point. "Fair enough. I've certainly not made your life easier. But there are more powerful entities at work here, master Kint, than some lowly crier... are there not?" He questioned, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
Kint's irritation with the young man was doused to a more pensive feeling. What does he know? The inspector thought. Is it the Black Seal? But how? No it must be that.
As the silence stretched, the priests knowing smile grew stronger still. Stirring Kint's frustrations again. He had too little information and loathed as he was to admit it, this young zealot had more.
The intensity of Kint's irritations grew as the young man, blinked with dramatic intent, giving him a look like he was about relieve the Inspector of his burdens.
The crier leaned his skeletal face forward, the blue crystal lights of the room playing dark shadows across the sharp lines of his face. "Tell me Inspector..." He whispered, as if he was speaking the Prophet's truth directly into the world. "How have your dreams been of late?" He whispered.
A muffled giggle burst from his partner by the door at the Criers words. But for Kint the world seemed to stand still. This young man had seen through him to a deeper secret than he could have imagined.
Kint's face grew taught with intensity as he leaned forward and asked. "What do you know of Dreams?"
The skeletal man's smile deepened at Kint's reaction.
"I think I hear Fezzi coming down." Elsha commented from Kint's right. He put his hand up to ward her off. Ears, intent on the criers next words.
"Only what a holy man hears in his duties." The man said, opening his shackled hands in an apologetic gesture. "But the word is getting around Inspector... and from what I'm hearing, the dreams in this district are black as pitch."
Kint squinted his eyes at the younger man. Again the boy hinted at things with knowing gaze. How far does this boy see? Kint thought, slightly fearful at being discovered for whatever haunted his own dreams.
"It's like you said..." Kint began, unsettled. "These are anxious times. Bad dreams are bound to happen."
"Quite right Master Kint..." The crier said, leaning languidly back in his chair. "But what came first, do you think?"
The words hung in the air, filling the taut silence like an unshed tear. This young mans actions would have Kint believe he was insane, but his words spoke of secrets who's shape the Inspector was only beginning to sense.
Before he could find out, a panicked wrap came at the door.
"Kint! Kint what the fuck are you doing!" Came a muffled voice behind the door. "Open this door right fucking now!"
"That'll be Fezzi." Elsha said, looking to her partner for guidance. Kint gave her a nod to open the door and Mayor Fezzeline burst through it, just as he was getting up.
The large man took a moment to catch his breath, staring daggers at the two of them. Sweat dripping from his forehead, he'd obviously come down the stairs as quickly as his bulbous body would take him.
After regaining his composure, the mayor raised a hand in the air, pointing a stolid finger toward the door. "Out." Was all he said, and the two inspectors did not argue.
They passed the twins throwing smug looks as they exited. The two sneering detectives entered the interrogation room behind them as Mayor walked out.
"You two. Stop there." The Mayor spoke in a stern tone, as the door closed behind him.
The two detectives stopped, turning around to face the haggard Fezzeline.
"What is this?" He questioned. Face lined with stress, eyes bloodshot with fatigue. "What am I doing here?"
The mans voice was devoid of emotion, too tired to bring forth his usual explosive anger.
"Fezzi..." Elsha hesitated, also sensing the deep fatigue in the man. "It's all part of--"
"The mission? The Black Seal?" The mayor cut in, raising a sharp eyebrow. "Arresting blasphemers, obstructing the investigations of your fellow Inspectors... That's all part of your mission, is it?" He questioned, simmering rage boiling up.
"It's my fault." Kint spoke up, "I just wanted to stick it to the Twins that's all."
Fezzeline raised a quizzical eyebrow, but did not immediately speak, allowing Kint to continue.
"You mentioned that you had them on The Sentinel case the other day and I thought it would get under their skin if we solved it before they did." He continued, seeing the lie was finding some purchase in the large mans mind. "They've been spreading rumors lately... 'cowardice' and all that... It got under my skin." He trailed off, shifting his gaze from the mayors eyes in embarrassment.
The mayor stared at him for a long while, face a mask as he digested the old inspectors words. "And did you solve it?" The man asked.
Kint shook his head dejectedly.
The Mayor's cheeks reddened as Kint could see his blood pressure rising, but as quickly as it came, the redness was released along with a heavy sigh. "This is killing me..." He admitted, massaging his face with tired hands. "Public unrest... rogue criers in the square, The Sentinel... The problems are stacking up and I can't seem to solve a single one of them." He looked down to his feet, shoulders slumping. "And now this... petty grievances... petty grievances from a man I thought I could rely on... You lay petty grievances at my feet when the District is crumbling around me!" The Mayors voice rose as he spoke, finishing with a yell. But his energy quickly subsided after the outburst. "You're fucking killing me Kint." He finished, with such meloncholoy that it pulled at Kint's heart for the lie he'd told.
Fezzeline shook his head again as he stared as his feet, before seeming to pull himself together, looking at the two of them with that stern gaze.
"The Black Seal... It's done, yes?" He asked, with raised eyebrows.
Elsha moved to confirm it before Kint cut her off
"Just one more thing." Kint stated, drawing a questioning glance from his partner.
The Mayor's forehead furrowed in concern but he waited for Kint to finish. Again, the old inspector felt the guilt of what he was doing to the man.
"We just need to stop by the Crematorium." Kint said with an unserious air. "Have to check some boxes, take a look at the bodies, and be seen doing it. That's all." He finished trying to downplay the task.
"Alright." Fezzy sighed dejectedly. "Get it done." He stated. "I want this whole thing settled by the end of the day."
"Of course." Kint said with a firm nod. Turning around and gesturing Elsha to follow him toward the stairs.
"What are you up to Kint?" His partner whispered as they strode down the poorly lit hallway.
"I'm not sure yet." Kint said firmly. "But there's something I need to check out."
Their interaction with the Mayor made him feel slightly guilty for what he was doing, but there was not way around it.He needed more information.
With each step the graying inspector felt his fear and doubt fade way, as the cold arms of the Silent State Embraced him.