After fifteen minutes of silent sweaty plodding through Kaden City streets, arriving to the hustle and bustle of Kelseen Square was a welcome change. There was a liveliness to the air that couldn’t be felt anywhere else, especially in these last few months. Shops, Inn’s, and restaurants of all sorts lined the squares edges each using magic in whatever way they could afford to attract wealthy merchants perusing the District center. With beautiful magically shaped colored glass in every window and Mage Forged stone relief sculptures depicting historical or scenes that bent the mind in their detail, a wealthy patron would be hard pressed not to stop and admire the view at least. For those of less means, the inner square was filled with food stands and trinket hawkers all trying to scrape a copper mark or two from whatever laborer was passing through.
While the shops, taverns, and food stands drew crowds of people to Kelseen Square, it was the magical entertainers that truly animated them. Today’s show was a group of magical kites shaped like birds made of fire and ice flying through the air in unthinkable acrobatic ways. One moment soaring high into the sky to spew water that fell like rain, the next diving down to breath fire just over the awestruck heads of the shoppers below. This entertainment was provided by Lord Crecius, and many of the performers used magical tech that was designed by the Lord himself. While the shows were free to enjoy, demonstrating to the people the power of inventions created by their lord, built by them, and sold in their district, bought much good will for a Lord who couldn’t be bothered to appear in person.
Kint usually enjoyed a good show after a hard day of work. But the excitement of today’s jobs had sapped much of his energy, leaving him irritable and drained. A mood exacerbated by the fact that his destination was on the other side of a milling mass of people.
The disgruntled Inspector took stock of the crowd, trying to map a way around the throngs of people and over to the massive stone and marble columned building at the other side of the square. His partner did not have the same compunctions about crowds, disappearing instantly into the throng of people the moment he’d paused. Kint sighed, looking around for a few anxious seconds before seeing her golden hair flash to his left, and with a grimace, he began to shove his way in that direction.
He was covered in sticky sweat that was not wholly his by the time he caught up to Elsha. She was sitting in a languid pose on the HQ building's marble steps, gaze fixed on a thin dark haired man in dusty white robes, standing atop a box at the nearest corner of the square. He was speaking to a paltry group of people by the side of the building. She turned, as she noticed Kint’s arrival and gestured with her chin towards the Church Crier.
“He’s got a bit of a crowd today.” She remarked.
Kint moved up the HQ stairs to get a better view of the man, seeing that he had a crowd of six or seven people listening today. Where usually there were none. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual about the young man, he was still in his slovenly robes, still hunched over a bit in an effort to hide his extensive nose, hopefully still aware of the futility of his charge.
But upon closer inspection there was a bit of a difference. The man’s face, there was a set to his chin that indicated determination. His shoulders were still slumped, but the emotion his posture conveyed was more nervous than his usual apathy. Interested, Kint stepped closer to the edge of the stairs trying to catch a few of the Crier’s words.
“You have seen it.” Yelled the young man in a shaky voice. “You have all seen it!” The man swept his gaze over the crowd, meeting the eyes of each listener. “We have lost our way… the spark is gone, the passion is gone.. There is nothing to look forward to. Nothing to gain. We toil away in the dark with no light to give us hope.”
Kint’s eyebrows knit together as he saw some of the listeners nod their heads. Most of the onlookers were men, all of them with worn out faces and clothes from a hard day's labor, dark purple circles ringing their eyes. But in spite of their wretched state, or maybe because of it, the Crier’s words struck a chord.
“‘For the good of all’... the Prophet’s first tenet… “For the good of all”” He repeated. “We hear it time and again. ‘For the good of all’. But you are the ones that work in the factories, you see the wonders made therein, the magical creations that are birthed in these factories bring prosperity to the world…But not to you… not to this world.” The crier said, pointing to the ground as he let the words settle. Kint could see a few more nods of agreement. “No… all of the good, goes up there.” He continued, raising his fingers to the sky pointing at the looming Stalwart Tree, and the Ignatium within. “All the good… All the goods that you work tirelessly to bring to fruition are only enjoyed in the halls of the Apostles. The hover boots, the cold storage units, and of course… the Energy Capturing Chrystals. All of these goods are only good for them, not All, and certainly not you.”
The Crier turned his head, taking the time to meet the eyes of every member of his fledgeling audience, until they landed on Kint. The sharp nosed man held Kint’s gaze for a moment, a smile quirked one side of his mouth. Kint’s brows knit together in confusion. That was too long a moment.
“But that is not to speak ill of our great Lord!” The hawk nosed man continued, raising a hand as if to physically stop the crowd from jumping to any conclusions. “Lord Crecius is a man of singular Genius. His mind is best used in creating wonders such as we have seen today… He is not to blame for this… this… Situation. It is those who manage his affairs, the advisors who do not even deign to visit the district, to witness the truth of their edicts… and the Mayor… the man who was elected to fight for your needs, now sitting fat off the resources meant for your children.” The Crier pointed to the broad District Headquarters. “They think that if money flows and the Glossers are happy, then all is well in the district.” He swept his hands out, gesturing to the Merchants all around them. “But they cannot see the forest for the trees. For there is something wrong in this district. We can all feel it.” Kint faintly heard more grunts and murmurs from the sparse crowd, their affirmation audible even over the ruckus of Kelseen Square around them.
“They get instantly lit fires and you get cold nights and a show to distract you. They get hot baths on demand, and you get to shower in the cold dreg of 10 miles of uncleaned Duct water. There is an imbalance here friends… District 13 is out of step with the Prophet’s First… and the Church of the Prophet will not rest until that imbalance is corrected. Come back tomorrow. Make your presence felt and your voices heard!” The young crier finished with flare, and a fist to the sky. There were a few more nods of assent in the crowd and one or two claps, but after a minute, the tepid crowd dispersed, melding back into the background of the busy square. Looking out across the square, Kint could see a couple shopkeepers were staring daggers at the Crier. One of them even threw a half eaten apple at the man. Kint gave a gruff chuckle at the poorly aimed throw, slightly comforted by the normalcy of the gesture.
As the Crier stepped down from his box, Elsha stood up “Well that was entertaining… Did you know him?” She asked with a turned head.
“What. No…” Kint responded, shaking his head. “But he was walking a tight line. He’s lucky I already had my fill of fun for the day.”
“Oh please…” Elsha snorted, “You could barely get through a busy crowd without having a breakdown, now you're going to ‘get in there’ and arrest a Church Crier for Thought Crimes?”
Kint grunted in response, ceding the point.
Elsha rolled her eyes, “Come on Kint, just because we solved one murder doesn’t mean we have to actually do our jobs now.” She joked, reaching her hand behind her to pull Kint towards the open double doors of the HQ entrance.
Kint let out a surprised grunt that came out more like a groan as he let himself be pulled forward. “I don’t seem to remember you actually solving any murders today…” He quipped.
“Oh really? I distinctly remember solving the gruesome strangulation of Old Man Kint before it even happened.” She replied, making her way inside.
The two Inspectors headed up three flights of stairs past several buttoned up administrators to the third floor, where the Law Enforcement Division and the Mayor made their home base. They stepped out into a broad open room striding past several evenly dispersed rows of wooden desks, towards the last row, behind which sat the Mayor's office. An unfortunate energy infused the room upon Kint and Elsha’s arrival. Law Enforcement officers and their apprentices all murmuring to each other and casting side eyed glances at the black coated inspectors. The odd pair must have looked like shadows of death to a District that was still not accustomed to seeing Murder in its protectorate.
The two Inspectors ignored their colleagues as they found their way to the back left corner of the room where their desks sat facing each other. Kint pulled his cushioned chair back and slumped into its embrace. He shifted himself at a glacial pace to lean forward, moving to put his head in his hands, massaging his face. He made all sorts of grunts, sighs, and grumbles as he did so.
After a few minutes of uninterrupted bliss, Kint was cudgeled out of his thoughtless relaxation by the sound of his partner's sultry voice.
“Kint…” She pressed. “Kiiint…”
“What. God’s be praised. What is it?” He grumbled, head still supported by his open palms.
“Have you eaten anything today?” She asked in a affected motherly tone.
Kint stayed his sulky attitude for a moment to think about it. Had he eaten today?
He raised his head up slowly, face moving through the pressure of his heavy fingers. Upon opening his eyes, he saw that his partner was holding a small metal jar between her hands, a wooden lid laid off to one side. He could see an orange hue showing through around her fingers as her power heated the contents within. Black scorch marks silhouetted the orange heat from daily use. Kint didn’t need to clear his mind to smell the delicious aroma of Chicken soup steaming up from the open jar.
“Did you forget again?” She asked, a teasing smile spreading as she spotted the longing look on his face.
Kint started patting his coat pockets in an exaggerated manner, joking “Agh… looks like I for–” He paused feeling a round lump in one of his lower coat pockets. He looked across his desk at Elsha who was just as surprised as he was when he pulled a shiny red plum from the space.
A small chime of a laugh left his partner as she shook her head, saying “She treats you better than you deserve.”
The lines on Kint’s consistently stoney face softened into a warm smile. He placed the plum on a stack of unfinished reports. Reaching for the Stalwart Knife at his belt, he said “She must have slipped it in my coat last night.” As he grabbed hold of the hilt.
“Whoa there Old man!” Came the voice of a tan young man.
The same voice, seeming to come from another direction, continued, “You might hurt yourself with that thing if you're not careful.” Kint looked up to meet the eyes of two identical Inspectors wearing the same black suit as himself. The Pashty twins looked to be in their mid twenties, with short dark hair, stubby noses, and square faces. Each one looked tanner than The Shroud should allow, thick layers of orange makeup caked on their skin.
“You’re looking extra glossy today boys.” Elsha commented, drawing attention to the noticeable difference between her natural tan and their fake ones.
“Some of us have ambitions. Flunky.” One of the twins replied.
“And some of us have eyes.” She shot back, “Especially us Blessed Ones.”
“Don’t mind her, Himbult.” One of the twins commented, “She’s barely Blessed anymore.”
One of the twins was leaning against the empty set of desks to Kint’s right, while the other was standing to the side of Kint’s own desk, pretending to closely examine Kint’s newly discovered plum.
Kint sat up straighter, continuing to rest his hand on the hilt of the dagger. He nodded “Hal…” and “Him…” greeting the two Inspectors.
“It’s Hale.” Grimaced the one holding Kint’s plum.
“And Himbult.” Echoed the other.
“Right…” Kint droned. “Well… you’ll have to forgive an old man.”
“You’d know all about forgiveness, wouldn’t you, pacifist.” Spat Himbult. Kint glanced concernedly at his partner who gave a barely perceptible shake of her head.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Speaking of you being old, I heard you were almost strangled to death this morning by some invalid.” Jabbed Hal, as he tossed the plum from hand to hand.
“Don’t you know what that knife is for?” Asked the other Twin.
“Well… I was going to use it to cut that Plum.” Kint replied in a neutral tone.
Hal let out a condescending chuckle. “Don’t bother. Probably hasn’t been sharpened in years.”
As the younger men reveled in their insults, Elsha cut in.
“Aren’t you two supposed to be getting married tomorrow?” She chimed. “I assume you’re both getting married to the same woman. I doubt there’s more than one creature in all the God’s creations that could deal with idiocy at your level… Unless…” She paused, eyes taking on a pensive look, the pointer finger of her right hand rising as if she had an idea. “No…” She droned. A scandalized look spreading across her face. She shook her head in amazement “I had no idea… But now it all makes sense.” She joked, tapping the tips of her two pointer fingers together. “How does that work?” She asked, in an earnest tone.
“Shut up freak!” Sneered one of the now red faced twins. “Like you’d know anything about love.”
“Never mind it Hal.” the other twin stepped in. “We’re on special orders from the Mayor. We can’t let her taint us with the stench of failure.”
“Oooh. Special orders, is it? Are you cleaning his shitter?” Elsha mocked.
“Some of us have higher callings than festering like boils on the ass of the District. Whor–” Hale came over and put a calming hand on his brother's shoulder before he could speak the incendiary word.
“It’s not worth it Himbult… Save your energy.” He said, putting the plum to his mouth and taking a large bite, then handing it to his brother to do the same. Juice dripped down their chins as Himbult tossed the half eaten plum into the wastebasket beside Kint’s desk.
“Anyway.” Hal sighed. “Thanks for the food Kint. We’re gonna need all the strength we can get for the work the Mayor has us doing.” At that, the two short men turned to walk toward their own desks at the other end of the room.
“Mmm Yes.” Elsha yelled after them. “Need to keep those mouths nice and moist if you're going to lick every Acolyte boot from here to the Blasted Lands.”
“Elsha.” Kint cut through her glee, saying “That’s enough.” In a stern tone.
“Why?” She pleaded. “You can’t let them keep going after you like that Kint. They’re just going to keep doing it until you put a stop to it.”
“Don’t worry about them.” He soothed, the whisper of a smile tugging at Kint’s stone face as he reached into his other coat pocket and pulled out another shiny plum. A shocked smile appearing on Elsha’s face at the sight of it.
“Besides…” Kint continued, sliding a razor sharp Stalwart Knife from its sheath. “Watching them squirm when I misremember their names brings such joy to this old man.” Kint mused as he cut a slice from the fruit and handed it to the equally amused Elsha.
There was a long pause before his partner whispered. "I didn't tell them, you know." A hint of urgency in her voice. "I don't know what they know or how they found out. Or if they know anything at all... It's just rumors I think." She trailed off.
Kint raised a hand to calm her down, saying "It's fine. Probably just rumors... like you said." A tension in Elsha's face released at his words as a more comfortable silence fell over their dark corner of the office.
The two sat quietly eating their afternoon snacks for the next 15 minutes or so before a squirrely administrator burst out of the door to the Mayor's offices. A loud low voice boomed out after him saying, “Remember the message is coded red this time! Red dammit! It should go straight to the Lord’s eyes.” The Administrator nodded quickly, a sheaf of papers and a pen almost falling out of her grasp in her haste. “And send in those two assholes in will you.”
“Who–” The administrator began to ask before she was cut off.
“Arcadis and Gray!” He bellowed. “I need to see them, right away!”
Elsha and Kint looked at each other for a moment, before standing simultaneously and making their way to where the Administrator had just exited.
Stepping into the Mayor’s office, they were greeted by a musty smell and an uneven crystal light. They turned to see a portly man sitting at an ornate hand crafted wooden desk. The Mayor’s elbows were on the wood surface, hands pressing into his face pushing sweat from his glistening forehead to fall between his fingers.
“Oh Fezzy. You look absolutely dreadful.” Elsha commented, as they moved toward the two chairs that faced the Mayor's desk.
“I would appreciate it…” The Mayor sighed in a low gluttonous voice. “If you would stop calling me that, Lady Elsha.”
“Of course, Mayor Fezelin.” Elsha responded in exaggerated tones. “But we both know the name Fezzy fits you far better than ‘Lady Elsha’ does me.”
“That may be so, Lady Elsha. But someone has to maintain decorum if you won’t. Now would you please sit down, both of you.” The Mayor urged as he pointed to the chairs in front of him.
The two Inspectors made themselves comfortable, while the Mayor adjusted himself in his high backed purple and black chair, a damp lock of thinning brown hair flopping onto his forehead as he did so.
“Now, Lady Elsha.” He began, turning his head toward the Inspector as he did so. “Tell me how things went this morning.” Kint’s left cheek twitched at the implication. The Mayor's body language showed the rumors of Kint’s cowardice in enforcing the fifth had spread farther than his partner let on.
“No problems there.” Elsha replied, “It was just the three of them. They were a scrawny bunch. The Blighted Child had obviously done its work on them for quite a while.”
“There were no problems… No issues with The Touched?” The Mayor asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Elsha thought for a moment before speaking. “No. I didn’t even get a chance to see what variant she was.”
“Lady Elsha…” The frustrated Mayor insisted. “Are you quite sure? Because I received a report just an hour ago…” The Mayor began, pulling a sheet of paper from a pile on his desk. “
…from the head of the Erasure Crew in this Sector and he noted that the carnage was so grisly that one of his cleaners almost quit on the spot…” The large man tilted his head down in insistance.
“I fulfilled my duties to the best of my ability, Mayor Fezelin. In accordance with the Fifth'' There was no remorse in her voice. No feeling for the family or the Eraser. No nothing. Just a statement of facts.
Kint had to force himself to relax his tightening grip on the arms of his chair. Even the Mayor looked put off by Elsha’s empty stare.
There was an awkward moment of tension before the Mayor coughed into his hand to clear his throat and continued. “Well… try to be a bit more prudent next time.”
“I will endeavor to do my best, Fezzy.” Elsha cooed, voice thick with sarcasm.
“Mhm. Anyway…” The bulky Mayor turned back to include Kint in the conversation. “Tell me what happened in the Merchant’s quarter. Payter mentioned you’d have things sealed away by today, but I want to hear it from you. Anything unusual going on there? Anything I need to be aware of.”
Those red slitted eyes dominated Kint’s mind at the Mayor’s question, causing him to hesitate in his answer.
Elsha jumped in to fill the silence.
“Well, besides the fact that the old man nearly died, I’d say that things were pretty normal.” Elsha quipped.
“Really? Are you alright?” Asked the Mayor, in genuine concern.
Kint cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m fine… and I’m not that old.” Kint croaked. “Elsha’s right though. There’s nothing out of the ordinary there. Just a lovers quarrel gone wrong.”
“Are we sure about that?” The Mayor asked, delving further into the incident. “Because young Payter tells me the Husband was utterly deranged. And when I hear those words I think Rot.” The Mayor gave him a skeptical eye. “And that’s what the other merchants will think too.”
“No.” Kint said firmly, red eyes still locked in his mind. “There was no Rot. The story is simpler than that.” The Mayor leaned forward in interest as Kint began to relay his accounting of how the murder took place. Noting the details that informed his theory. As the narrative continued the portly man nodded slowly. When Kint finished summarizing, Mayor Fezelin steepled his hands in consternation. Finally, he leaned back as a sigh rushed from his chest.
“That all… makes sense…” The Mayor said, looking surprised at his own words, giving Inspector Kint an appraising eye. He looked down in thought for a bit before continuing. “You know, I actually knew the Syfeeli’s. The husband worked closely with Lord Crecius for a time.” He commented. “I attended some of those parties you described. They were quite fun.”
“How do you know he was working with Lord Crecius?” Kint asked. “I hear the Lord likes to keep the names of his benefactors hidden.”
“He does.” Fezelin nodded. “I suspect that Mr. Syfeeli’s constant boasts about his connection to the Lord are what made their relationship so fleeting. He even bragged of having a direct Nexus connection to the Lord built into his home. Although I have my doubts about that.”
“I can confirm that actually.” Elsha jumped in. “I was surprised to find the Information room as well.” It was Kint’s turn to give Elsha an appraising look. She noticed Kint’s expression and replied with exaggerated offense, “What? We are Inspectors after all. Am I not allowed to gather evidence…” There was a pause before Elsha tilted her head and raised her hands as if weighing two objects. “To be fair, after hearing the rumors of those Syfeeli parties, I was looking for something a bit more salacious than what I found.”
Both Kint and the Mayor leaned back a little, Elsha’s moment of interest in actually doing her job making a bit more sense. “In any case,” The Mayor continued, nodding to Kint. “Your story makes sense. And more importantly it’s one that I can sell to the Merchant families without too much pushback. The lord is giving me enough to deal with as it stands, I don’t need those damn Glossers on my back as well.” The Mayor gestured to the jumbled stacks of paper on this desk, and Kint noticed that almost all of them had the owl and quill stamp of House Vorva’s sigil in either red or yellow ink, two of the higher priority message indicators.
With all the problems on the Mayors plate, Kint began to wonder. “Mayor Fezelin, if you don’t mind my asking, why did you pick us for this assignment? We don’t exactly have the best track record. And with all the eyes on this case I’d think you’d want to bring those twins of yours in.” Kint said, pointing his thumb towards the left wall, beyond which sat the other inspectors.
The Mayor leaned back a bit before he responded, interlocking his hands and resting them on his belly. “I picked you two because, at least at work…” The Mayor cast a quick knowing look at Elsha before continuing “...you both excel at completing your assignments with as little fuss as possible. While that doesn’t make for many solved cases, I let it go because, again, no fuss.” He paused, raising an eyebrow to see if the two inspectors were keeping up with him before continuing. “So, while I wasn’t confident you’d solve the case, I at least knew whatever you did come up with wouldn’t result in many issues for me. With the twins…” The mayor grimaced slightly as his eyes darted to where the twins would be sitting on the other side of the wall. “The Twins are a bit too ambitious, I fear they might have tried to use the spotlight of an important case to improve their standing. I can’t be dealing with that shit right now.”
“Bravo Fezzy.” Elsha congratulated. “I didn’t know you had such a scheming mind.” She put a finger to her chin in thought. “Although, I always wondered how someone like you became Mayor in the first place.” The Mayor cocked his head slightly as if considering whether to take the comment as a compliment or an insult. Before he could decide, Elsha piped up again “You must have handed the Twins something special for them to give up such a juicy case.”
“Yes, well… Like I said, I have a lot on my plate.” The Mayor looked up in thought for a moment before coming to a decision. “I guess it can’t hurt to have more eyes on it.” The sweaty man reached over to a pile of papers on the right side of his desk, sifting through them for a few seconds before finding what he was looking for.
He tossed a small rolled up sheet of paper to Kint, who caught it in both hands.
“The twins are working on tracking down someone who calls themselves, The Sentinel.” Began the Mayor, as Kint unrolled the small note. “This person, or people, has been sending messages through our public Information Nodes for a while now, the couriers seem to be intercepting them and distributing them before anyone of authority can see.” Looking at the pocket sized message, Kint saw that there was writing, but the most prominent feature of the note was a hand drawn image. “We only found out about this a few days ago, but we believe it’s been going on for at least a few weeks, maybe more. We think the messages come in from many different districts simultaneously, where the 13th is not the final destination but simply a pass through node. The Couriers have some sort of system by which they can anticipate these messages and strip the Sentinel’s notes out while sending the original on to its final destination.” A small smile grew on Kint’s face as he examined the image. It depicted a large ostentatiously dressed gentleman, presumably the Lord, sitting on a wooden seat with a hole where the bottom should be. Beneath the hole was a huddled mass of shabbily dressed commoners who were struggling to blow air on the Lord’s exposed bottom. Above the Lord was a quote saying ‘I do love my new heated seats. What miracles modern technology can bring.’ and at the bottom of the note was a message that read ‘Remember the First’. Kint chuckled at seeing the line and handed the note to his partner who unfurled it and began to read.
The mayor gave Kint a confused look but continued his explanation, “Since the messages come from many different Nexus points we are working on the theory that the Sentinel is not one person, but a group.”
“Or just one person working from the Central Nexus.” Kint posited.
“Right…” The Mayor nodded. “But it’s not so easy to get access to the Central Nexus. Especially with house Vorva sitting so low among the Apostle Families. So I’ve directed Twins to investigate the group theory, starting by wringing whatever they can out of the Couriers.”
Kint began thinking of the old courier he’d met that morning, feeling bad for what the twins would do to him. But his musings were interrupted when Elsha laughed. “That little plagiarist.” An amused smile on her red lips.
“This isn’t funny. The Lord is up my ass about this and I will not have you laughing in my face.” He spat, the words sprinting out of his mouth.
Both the Inspectors were taken aback by the Mayors sudden rush of emotion. Mayor Fezelin was usually quite an affable fellow, but this show of anger was an obvious sign that the Lord was putting real pressure on him.
After pausing for a moment for the portly man to catch his breath, Kint explained “I apologize Mr. Mayor, but Elsha and I just witnessed the Crier outside with a bit of a crowd. We’d wondered what made his words today so different from usual.” Kint pointed toward the message in Elsha’s hand before continuing “It looks like he may have been taking a queue from the Sentinel.”
The Mayor took a handkerchief from his coat pocket to dab sweat from his glistening face. “The Crier had a crowd, you say? How many?” He asked.
“About six or seven I think? Couldn’t be more than ten.” Elsha commented, trying to reassure the anxious man.
“One is too many.” The Mayor Groaned. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Lady Elsha, but the Noveriat hasn’t been a true Theocracy for a few hundred years now.” The Mayor cradled his chin as his eyebrows knit together in thought. “Do you think they could be working together?” He questioned, anxiety creeping into his expression.
“I don’t think we need to worry about that.” Kint soothed, trying to lower the tension of the room. “He probably found out about this Sentinel and was just playing to the crowd.”
“Even a blind beggar can find food if it’s handed to him.” Elsha chimed in.
The Mayor’s lip twitched as he mumbled “One more thing to worry about.” Before taking a deep breath to calm down.
“In any case, I’m beginning to tire of your presence.” He said, motioning to the door. “Unless there’s anything else?”
The two Inspectors shook their heads as they began to stand. “Good. Go home and get some rest.” The mayor directed, as he began to shuffle through his papers again. “With the way things are going, I’ll need you to actually do your jobs for the foreseeable future.”
Elsha and Kint moved toward the door a bit faster at that, trying to avoid any added responsibility that might follow them out.