The conversation was cut short when Lysandra knocked on the front door.

“Morning,” said Ethan as he opened the door. “Got any news?”

“It’s the afternoon, Gilbert,” said Lysandra as she barged in. “And, yes.” She made herself comfortable in the living room where Colt was.

“Any further break-ins or dead bodies?” asked Ethan.

“You wish. No, but I got a little folder full of Museum employees who could have had access to the room the Codex was in. Have a look at page 17,” she tossed a large binder towards Ethan, who flipped the pages impatiently.

“Oh,” he said.

“Hm?” asked Cole, leaning over to look over Ethan’s shoulder. “Oh.”

Page 17 was a personnel file for a museum custodian, a young frogman named Bril Roberts - the same frogman who was present at the Association meeting.

“Do you think that’s our guy?”

“Access to the crime scene, check. Knowledge of technology, check. Knows how to set up a bomb - that was the invention he was showing off during the Association meeting. Check. Short? Check.”

Ethan grimaced. He couldn’t shake a feeling something was off about all this.

“Do we know if he has any knowledge of or access to necromancy to even be able to use the Codex?” he asked.

“Haven’t been able to figure that out. It’s likely he isn’t working alone, and whoever he’s working with has not made themselves known yet.”

Ethan nodded, thinking.

“He’s got the stabilizer. He’s got the Codex. And I take it that releasing the knowledge of the first Architect Arcane is the most likely next step?”

“Precisely.”

Ethan looked at the piece of paper again, Bril’s address already helpfully highlighted by Lysandra. “We’re breaking into another house, aren’t we?”

----------------------------------------

They put on their disguises and left for the neighborhood of Stonemire, a humble, weathered area with old buildings and old graffiti on the walls. There weren’t any spires nor towers here; instead, the buildings were no taller than 3 stories at most, and crumbling as if trying to get closer still to the ground.

Bril’s place was, shockingly, one of the prettiest houses in the area.

It looked like a small suburban house, scrubbed perfectly clean and decorated with pots full of bright little flowers. The front yard was littered with an army of kooky ceramic angels, which Ethan noticed must be the Arcalis equivalent of garden gnomes; there was even an angel meditating, and another one smoking a giant blunt. Plenty of them gathered around shallow, muddy ponds that occupied most of the front yard.

“Is this the right spot?” asked Ethan. “It seems too…. Homey.”

“It must be,” said Cole, who insisted on coming along to retrieve his stabilizer.

“Um, excuse me?” said a tiny, high pitched voice behind him. “Why are you looking at my house?”

They all turned around. Behind them stood not one, not two, but four frog-children, each one wearing overalls in a different color: yellow, blue, pink, and black.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Oh, hi!” said Lysandra, crouching down to meet the frog-children at eye-level. “I’m Emma, and this is Ethan and… Steve. We’re friends of Bril’s. Does he live here?”

“Are you from the ass-asso-assomatation? Cause mommy says to not let any assomatation losers in,” said Yellow coldly.

“Of course not,” chuckled Ethan. “Do we look like Association losers?”

Yellow gave him a cold look. “Yes.”

“We are his colleagues from work,” said Lysandra. “He forgot his work badge and we wanted to give it back to him.”

“Okay.” said Yellow. Blue and Black ran up towards the front door, screaming “Mommy! Mommy! Bril’s coworkers are heeereee!”

The trio followed the gaggle of screaming frog children home, only to realize the inside of the home housed at least an extra 6 children; each one dressed in their own color. The two youngest, barely little tadpole toddlers, were sitting in their high chairs and eating some mushy goo.

“Mhmm. Coworkers, right?” grumbled the Matriarch the children were now swarming.

Despite being just over 3 feet tall, she had an aura of a math teacher who would make you cry as you’re trying to solve an equation at the board in front of the entire class. She wore simple, no-nonsense clothes in vibrant polka dots, and her hair was pulled back into a bun so tight it hurt Ethan just looking at it.

“Yes,” chippered Lysandra. “He forgot his badge,” she added.

“Mhmm.” the Matriarch grumbled. “This boy. Always so scatterbrained. Always working on something or other and never on anything useful,” she cleaned the chin of one of her younger kids, who was drooling wildly. “Just like his father, he is. And, he’s not home. Leave the badge here, he’ll get it when he comes back.”

“I’m afraid we can’t, it’s company policy,” Ethan chimed in. “Any idea where he is?”

“How should I know where this wretched little-”

“Hey mom, when’s dinner gonna be ready?” said a familiar voice in the hallway. Bril was now standing in the threshold of the kitchen, mouth wide, looking at the trio of guests.

“I guess he’s back after all,” mumbled his mom.

“Bril! Bril-o, my guy!” Ethan feigned as much friendliness as he could. You kicked me in the balls earlier and you’ll pay for that! “You left your badge at work, you silly goose, you. Mind if we chat for a moment?”

Bril nodded slowly, eyeing his mother and younger siblings. “Uhh, sure. Yeah. Come to my room.”

They followed Bril up the narrow, rickety stairs into his room - a tiny space in the attic, decorated with half-finished science projects and pictures from adult magazines. The four of them barely fit in there.

“Look, you guys were really awesome at the Association meeting, but what the fuck makes you think you can just come into my house like that and bother my mom-”

Ethan pulled off his disguise charm, and pinned Bril to the wall.

“I don’t think you are in a position to complain much,” he growled.

Bril’s eyes filled with panic.

“Where is the stabilizer? Who are you working with?” asked Ethan, lifting Bril up higher.

“I- I- this is not what you guys think!”

“Really? Well, you have half a minute to convince me.”

Lysandra and Cole were already looking through Bril’s room at the speed of light. Bril flailed his arms pathetically in protest.

“I- I didn’t want to do this, you know. But he seemed so confident. It was going to be just a couple of minor thefts, nothing big. Just some minor things to get some extra cash. Science is expensive, you know. You can’t be poor and do science, you know. But then he was asking for help with more and more dangerous things. I- I didn’t want to, I really didn’t. Then he asked me to steal the Codex, said I already worked there, it’ll be easy, he said. I- I didn’t want to. He said, said if I don’t do it, he’ll hurt my family. I have 23 siblings, for the Stars’ sake! 23!”

“Who is he? Where is he?”

“H-he-he is-”

In his peripheral vision, Ethan saw Bril’s shadow move on its own.

It moved swiftly, quickly positioning itself directly behind Bril, on the wall.

A hand reached out from the shadow, with a swift move of a dark blade slashing Bril’s throat. Blood sputtered out from the slash and from Bril’s mouth, landing on Ethan’s face.

Ethan couldn’t help but exclaim out in shock. Bril’s body fell lifelessly to the ground.

From the shadows, a figure stepped out, a blade in each hand.

“Time’s up, Shadowveil,” it said.

And lunged.