The next day was cloudy and Varyna worried that rain was going to dampen the COPS’ outing with Peacekeeper Benou-Alf. Thankfully, everything remained dry as they met up with her after a surprisingly filling breakfast of warm oratmeal with a variety of toppings provided by the small hotel.

Benou showed up without the rickety crawler, instead taking them right out onto the street and walking briskly away from the hotel.

“Downtown is just a couple blocks this way. Visitors and tourists stay and shop mostly in that area, so it’s the best place to retrace our victims’ steps,” she explained. She was full of energy, likely enjoying the heavy humidity that hung naturally in the air. Her mistter wasn’t even running, a rare sight for a Nemarian out of water. Varyna, on the other hand, found the wet air to be stifling and sticky.

As the group walked the blocks to the downtown shops and hotels, Opun took out his pen and began asking Benou questions and taking notes. He asked for a list of the shops that had bodies found in front of them, the list of shops that hadn’t, which hotels the victims had stayed at, and if there were any particularly popular places that the majority of tourists visited.

Watching him, Varyna was reminded of Quoppi. He would look exactly the same in this situation, no doubt. Without a care of how annoying he was being, simply furiously scribbling notes and committing every single detail to memory.

Benou-Alf patiently answered all of Opun’s questions and promised that she would point out all the points of interest he had asked about.

Finally, they reached downtown. For Varyna, who was used to the sky-high buildings and constant bustling of the Capitol, it was quite underwhelming. There was only one street, which stretched for probably four or five blocks, lined with shops packed tightly together.

Oddly, gardens were well-kept and the streets were incredibly clean, Varyna noted. She quickly caught sight of the reason, however. A small team of very old golems worked their way down the street, one sweeping out the gutters and another the street. Two more were trimming and watering the plants.

Benou noticed Varyna’s gaze and explained, “Our planet was a farming planet for generations before it became a tourist destination. We’ve managed to repurpose some of the old farm golems to help upkeep the city.”

“It looks like they do a great job keeping everything nice,” Hxlt nodded. “Rare to see such clean streets on a small planet like this. No offense.”

“None taken,” Benou beamed. “Now, shall we begin the tour?”

Most of the shops were still closed, so the Peacekeeper started with the crime scenes, which had been cleaned up as soon as Peacekeeper Benou-Alf had taken pictures and got the bodies moved to the clinic to wait for the doctor.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to collect and process evidence like the COPS. The best we can do is take documentation photos and go over the bodies and effects,” Benou explained with a disheartened sigh.

“But we’ve somehow managed to persevere until now anyway,” a familiar voice broke in. Peacekeeper Ershel joined them, his expression slightly less sour than it had been the day before.

“Hello, Ershel,” Benou-Alf greeted her fellow Peacekeeper. Hxlt and Opun greeted him as well. Varyna offered a curt nod.

“I know we got off on the wrong leg yesterday,” he muttered. “I certainly am a little frustrated to have to call in COPS, but that’s not your fault. I just- I grew up here, and it was such a peaceful, happy place that we didn’t even need law enforcement. The most the Peacekeepers had to deal with back in the day when my father was a Peacekeeper was a squabble over kechins or some poaching.”

“What changed?” Opun asked, looking around. In the time they’d spent visiting the crime scenes, the street had started to wake up. Tourists were out walking around, some alone and others in groups. They seemed to be enjoying the cool morning, taking in the quaint clean streets and shops and stopping at the cafes that were starting to open for breakfast.

“The Haunted Cave,” he answered in a darker tone, scowling.

“You don’t approve of it?” Hxlt asked.

Ershel shrugged. “I know it’s brought in business, which is good, but I don’t think it’s worth the price we’ve had to pay.”

Varyna and Hxlt nodded while Opun scribbled furiously with his holopen.

“There are few who see it that way,” Benou countered. “While there has been a slight increase in crime and it’s gotten harder to keep the streets clean, everyone is doing better financially and our community is growing and progressing. We have far greater access to technology and resources for teaching the younger generation that we didn’t have before.”

Ershel shook his head. “We got along fine without fancy technology and lots of money for generations before this tourism thing started.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, as my partner pointed out, there are few who agree with me. Most are enjoying the ease that comes with running a tourist town instead of pulling our living out of the ground.”

“But there are others?” Varyna frowned.

“Certainly there are others,” Ershel answered.

Before they could pursue the lead further, Benou-Alf interrupted. “Here’s someone you should meet. Khrwm!” she called.

A male Kremel a couple buildings down turned and greeted them with a large, friendly smile. “Well now, who have we got here?” he asked in a warm, booming voice.

“These are-” Ershel began, but Khrwm interrupted him.

“You don’t have to tell me! I recognize those COPS uniforms. Welcome Officers! We don’t get such distinguished guests in this area very often.” He shook all of their hands.

“It’s not like they’re here on vacation,” Ershel snorted. “In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a serial killer on the loose.”

Khrwm’s expression changed so quickly, it was like a light going off. The warm smile disappeared under a grave frown. “I know it, and I’m as concerned as anyone, but it certainly makes me feel better to have some trained COPS here. No offense to our own law enforcement of course,” he added, nodding to Benou and Ershel.

He turned his attention back to Varyna, Hxlt, and Opun. “You Officers let me know how I can help. I want to see this cleaned up as soon as possible.”

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“Well, the Peacekeepers tell us you’ve got a pretty good finger on the pulse of the town,” Hxlt said. “Perhaps after we’ve had a chance to meet the other people the Peackeepers have in mind, we can come sit down with you and pick your brain, help us get a feel for how things stand.”

“Absolutely. You see the restaurant there, Krln’s Nest? That’s my place. Come by when you’re ready and we’ll have a meal and a chat, on the house.”

“Thank you.” Hxlt shook Khrwm’s hand, then the large Kremel gave everyone else a warm goodbye before heading back to his restaurant.

“Shall we continue?” Benou asked, gesturing down the street.

Everyone nodded and she led the way. She stopped to greet a few of the shopkeepers, introducing the COPS each time. Some of the shopkeepers were polite, some were openly hostile, but none were quite so friendly as Khrwm. (Nor as cold as Ershel.)

About halfway down the first side of the street, they found a particular souvenir store packed full of tourists.

“Well, looks like Yana is making out all right,” Ershel scowled.

“Yana?” Varyna echoed.

“Go on in. You’ll see what I mean,” he sighed, motioning to the crowded doorway. Benou-Alf led the way through the crowd. Varyna remained at the back, in the gap Hxlt left behind him.

Right when he reached the front of the crowd, however, the Kremel froze, causing Varyna to walk straight into him.

“What was that about?” she grumbled quietly, rubbing her nose as she peeked around him.

The shop was full of tshirts and other nicknacks. It seemed ordinary enough, until Varyna took a closer look at the images plastered on all the merchandise.

“Umpgh,” she gagged, throwing a hand to her mouth.

Bodies, distorted and covered in dried dirt and blood, graced the front of each shirt and every trinket. People of all species rummaged carelessly through the items, their fingers brushing countless rotting wounds and dead soulless eyes before finding their preferred gruesome image.

“Where did she get those pictures?” Varyna grimaced.

Opun just shook his head, but Benou overheard and answered. “Yana is always up early in the morning, so she found about half of the bodies herself. Instead of reacting like a normal person, however, she took photos and-”

“And made them into souvenirs?” Varyna growled at a tourist reaching to grab a holonecklace next to her, featuring what seemed to be the serial killer’s third victim. The tourist pulled their hand back with a glare and turned to a row of bracelets instead.

In the midst of it all, without a single care nor doubt, stood a middle-aged woman with bright pink hair and thick-rimmed glasses. She chatted gaily as she ringed up customers and praised them for their ‘taste’. Her smile fell, however, when she caught sight of Ershel and his entourage.

“What can I do for you, Peacekeeper Benou-Alf?” she asked in a gratingly fawning tone. “Make room, everyone, make room. These brave law enforcers are the ones working to keep our streets safe.”

Hxlt, Opun, and Varyna joined Benou-Alf at the counter.

“These are the COPS, here to help us find the killer,” Benou-Alf said brusquely, stepping aside so the Officers could take over.

“Of course, of course,” Yana answered, rubbing her hands on her brightly patterned pants before reaching out to shake everyone’s hand. Hxlt was the only one who offered his hand to the woman, but he flinched when she grabbed it. He introduced himself and his comrades, and the shopkeeper smiled a brittle smile, clearly uncomfortable with their presence in her store.

“How can I help you, Officers?” she asked. “Naturally I’m as anxious as anyone to see this killer stopped.”

Varyna raised a disbelieving eyebrow, but it was Hxlt who spoke. “It seems you’ve taken advantage of the situation,” he remarked, struggling to keep his tone unaccusatory.

“Well, a soul’s got to make a living, you know,” she answered, rubbing her hands on her pants again. “And I figure, the more aware everyone is, you know, the more cautious they’re going to be.”

“Ah, I see. A kind of public service, is it?” Varyna spat. Hxlt shot her a warning look.

“Yes, yes, that’s it exactly,” the woman answered again in that sickly sweet tone.

“Ha! You-” Varyna started, stopping when Opun stepped gently on her foot.

“Perhaps you can help us out then,” Hxlt broke in. “Since you’re already working to spread the word, maybe you can help us distribute these flyers here.” He pulled out a small stack of papers that he had shown Opun and Varyna last night.

They were contact cards to let people know how to best contact the Officers with information about the case or an emergency line for those who felt they were in danger.

Yana took the cards and read through the top one. “Certainly Officers. I’m happy to help.”

“Excellent,” Hxlt forced a friendly smile before spinning on his heel and quickly making his way out of the souvenir shop of horrors. Opun followed suit and Varyna reluctantly trailed behind them, though there were plenty more things she wanted to say to the disgusting woman who was profiting off the deaths of innocent tourists.

“Maybe she’s the killer herself. Found a nice way to make a bunch of cash,” Varyna snorted.

Opun shook his head. “She strikes me more as an insensitive opportunist, but you’re right, she certainly has a motive.”

They followed Peacekeeper Benou-Alf down the street, meeting more shopkeepers and restaurant owners as they went along. To Varyna’s surprise, the Peacekeeper led them right past one small shop that appeared to be open.

“What about this place?” Varyna asked, wondering if Benou had missed it.

The Nemarian looked back with an alarmed look that surprised Varyna, but before she could say anything, the door to the shop opened.

The Nemarian who walked out was even more eccentric in appearance than Yana. All kinds of piercings littered the fins on his head, and he wore a bright yellow toga that shimmered when he moved.

“Ah, Zebulon. Nice to see you,” Ershel said. His eyes darted between the bizarre-looking shopkeeper and his partner, who had her arms crossed.

“I knew you would be by this morning,” the man mused absently. His eyes passed over them, but seemed to see right through them instead of actually focusing on them.

“Yes, well, we were just showing these visitors around-” Benuo started, clearly trying to get out of any conversation with Zebulon.

“Ah, the COPS,” he said, nodding. His gaze traveled back over them, stopping on Varyna. His dark eyes widened as he looked and her and his expression changed, becoming more aware and more focused.

“This one is the one who can find the source.” His voice changed, becoming deeper and rhythmic. “She will track down the demonic energy that has taken over the town,” he continued, staring straight into her eyes.

Then he blinked and the dreamy expression returned. “Well, it was lovely to meet you, Officers,” he said in his normal voice, as if nothing had just happened. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

With that, he turned and walked back into the shop, leaving them all staring at each other in confusion.

“What just happened?” Varyna raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, he does that,” Ershel said.

“He’s insane, but for some reason, a lot of people buy into his mystical fortune telling and potions and spells mumbo jumbo,” Benou spat, showing the hint of anger Varyna had seen in her since they met.

“Well, he’s certainly an interesting character,” Hxlt said.

“What do you think he meant? About the Demonic energy?” Opun asked.

Varyna didn’t have to wonder herself, because the answer popped up in front of her eyes.

[New Quest Unlocked!]

[Demonic Origin]

[Description: find the source of the Demonic energy on Imadrin]

[Time limit: 5 days]

[Reward: 1000 XP, New Skill]

Her eyes widened. She’d never received a quest worth so much XP, nor had she received a quest that came with a [Skill].

“That’s going to be difficult,” she muttered.