Tuesday, 17th July, 1923

‘So what’d you call us here for’ Ken inquired, going down a flight of stairs leading lower than the city while Fang followed close behind.

‘There’s something the boss would like to give you.’ Kalem Vi-Shana beckoned him and Fang at the entrance of the maintenance tunnel, the same place they had met the Yarrows. ‘We’ve stored it inside.’

‘Great.’ Fang sarcastically replied. ‘Can’t wait to smell like a dust-bunny’s gaping-’

‘Fang. We won’t be inside for too long.’ Ken said, standing by the now open maintenance tunnel. ‘And you agreed to come when you didn’t have to.’

‘Could’ve picked a nice cafe or something like that, but nah. Guess it’s gotta be a musty old tunnel...’ She grumbled entering through the door as Ken held it open for her.

Stepping through the familiar tunnels, they eventually made it to the room with the radio and small chair, but this time, no goblin to accompany it.

Ken looked at the empty spot and asked. ‘Elen’s taking an off-day?’

Kalem stepped to the table, lifting the radio equipment to reveal something that was pinned underneath. ‘She’s taking psych-evals alongside the other folk that got hit with the sleeping gas. They’re checking for any potential abnormalities caused by that mist-head thingy.’

‘I see.’

‘Here.’ Kalem abruptly handed over a leather folder to Ken and Fang, which Ken took and opened, allowing the two of them to carefully examine the contents. Within were runes and diagrams matched with mysterious writing in a language that looked like it was lost to time. This looked like the Alfrian Manuscript they were looking for, to which Fang reacted with eyes wider than saucers.

‘The boss has decided to put her trust in you after that night-’

‘Handing over something as valuable as this!?’ Fang nervously laughed.

‘It’s just a copy.’ Ken remarked as he inspected the document, crashing Fang’s excitement. ‘The lead markings look recent, and the runes look like they were recreated with stencilling.’

Fang’s face dropped with her ears and stared at Ken with a disappointed look.

‘Sorry, foxy.’ Kalem smiled as she explained. ‘The boss is giving you a copy in the hopes that you might know someone that can decipher it. Aaaaand… She’s also considered the worth of your offer.’

‘What’d she think?’ Fang asked.

‘That this thing is a lot more trouble than it’s worth if keeping it means more incidents like that night are gonna happen again. She wants to sell it to your contact, which in turn, will help the detective over here.’

‘Great!’ Fang clasped her hands together excitedly. ‘I’ll set the meeting up for you then.’

She then turned to Ken. ‘What do you think about that, part-’

Ken’s eyes were transfixed on the manuscript, scanning every detail and committing them to memory. It wasn’t until he felt an elbow hit his rib that his gaze turned to Fang. ‘Ow- Huh? Oh yeah. We can work with this.’

‘What are you planning on doing with that?’

‘Make another copy at home. Seeing as how Sandra’s gonna involve herself no matter what, I might as well give her some homework. See if she happens to know someone at the academy who might be able to help with this.’ He said, returning his gaze to the papers in his hands.

‘That niece of yours is a handful. Prolly for the best that you don’t leave her unchecked.’ Fang started to step away as she prepared to head back to the bar. ‘Anyway, I got a call to make. I’ll be back here once I’ve arranged the meeting.’

‘Got it. Thanks for helping us out again.’ Kalem replied.

‘-Wait, did you call me partner earlier?’ Ken called out.

‘La-la-la, I can’t hear you! The signal’s bad underground!’ Fang yelled back, her voice echoing as she left.

Ken snorted.

‘Never change, Chao.’ He looked back to papers. ‘Now. What should I report to the precinct?’

___

Friday, 20th July, 1923

It’s been slightly under a week since the party where Ken and his entourage of young mages and an ex-lover had to fight against unknown assailants after the Alfrian Manuscript. Things became a lot more complicated than merely solving a case now, as it became clear that multiple parties were after the manuscript for reasons that were beyond what he could know at the moment.

However, as much as Ken would have loved to leap straight into continuing his investigation into the matter, he was also stuck within the confines of the Rabuddon Precinct filing multitudes of incident reports and corroborating witness statements from those at the party along with the Green Guard. What a headache… He thought. Paperwork was far from anyone’s favourite past-time in the force, but ever since that night, his priorities have shifted. Big things are moving in the background, and he needed to uncover them fast.

‘Detective Larsen!’ A familiar voice rang through the busy offices of the precinct, and from the corner of Ken’s eyes, a vulpine appeared beside his desk, one with a mess of dark-blue hair and orange eyes. ‘It’s been a while, sir.’

Wait. I don’t think I paid attention to how he looked like. Ken pondered as he wracked his memory. But this voice… It’s…

‘Officer Neuman?’ Ken arched his brow, surprised at the sight of the officer from Gold Ocean Hills. ‘How’d you get here?’

‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to be transferred into the city, so I had actually sent it my application months ago. It got approved recently so I finally arrived here on Tuesday.’

‘It’s nice to have you here, Officer Neuman. But why’d you decide on coming here anyway? Countryside too peaceful for you?’

‘Well… I suppose yeah.’ Drake Neuman held his wrist behind his back, keeping a professional stance while talking to Ken. ‘The countryside’s nice, but I can’t exactly build much experience there since nothing ever happens.’

‘From what I recall, you were helping me with a case regarding an attempted theft of an airship.’

‘Yeah, but how often does that happen?’ Drake questioned. ‘It was a one-time incident, and I couldn’t even get the opportunity to follow it up with any investigation since it went straight to Yggdran jurisdiction.’

‘I suppose you’re right, but be careful. You’re in the city now, so you’re gonna end up wishing you still had a semblance of peace like in the countryside.’

‘Hah!’ Drake laughed defiantly. ‘Not a chance.’

‘Oh?’

Drake’s eyes seemed to be filled with a determination that he didn’t recognise before. ‘You taught me something back in Gold Ocean, sir. I got a lot to learn before I reach anywhere near your status as one of the greatest detectives in Edonia. I want people to be able to rely on me as an officer of the law.’

‘Hmm. Very… spirited.’ Ken said, being caught off-guard by the sudden energetic outburst. ‘So you’re here because you want to learn to be the best?’

‘I came here to do my part, sir. My dad fought in the war, and his grandpa died in one.’ Drake smiled solemnly as his gaze lingered elsewhere before returning to Ken. ‘This world is hurting, and this city is hurting too. If what they say about the city is true, I don’t wanna stand by while I can do something.’

‘Officer Neuman!’ Another voice yelled out from elsewhere in the precinct, particularly from the direction of the police commissioner's office. A human man with a moustache stood by the doorway, staring down the greenhorn rookie ‘I thought I ordered you to report to me!’

‘R-right, sorry sir! I’ll be right there.’ Drake said startled. He then turned back to Ken. ‘I gotta-’

‘Yeah. Your first lesson is don’t get on the Commissioner’s bad side, kiddo.’

‘Right.’ Drake scratched the back of his head. He then cleared his throat and said one last thing before heading off to the Commissioner’s office. ‘I’ll be looking forward to working with you, Detective.’

‘Likewise.’ Ken replied.

Ken was once again left to his own devices, leaving him to a mountain of paperwork to deal with, along with one specific problem he had his mind on. Namely, the fate of a specific person currently in a hospital in the lower canopy of the Great Tree.

There would be issues that would arise from having Natalia enter police custody. Ken had heard from Fang about what Nat had said that night before the fight broke out, which had implied a much larger scale for this case than he had imagined. If she were left to be imprisoned after her hospital stay, it would likely be the case that she would find her life threatened while in custody, if not outright assassinated by greater forces.

In an hour or two, he would get called to give a statement on their sole suspect of that night.

However, Fang had a plan. One she discussed with Ken, Sandra, and Riley. All that was left was for Ken to play his part.

___

‘That night, you happened to be at the Manafell District attending the party. For what reason were you there?’

Ken’s eyes adjusted to the lamp being harshly shone unto them. The man holding it by its wires dangling from the ceiling was a Siyokoian man with dark-red iridescent scales that bore a fiery quality. Ken winced, ‘Are you gonna keep shining that thing like a jackass?’

‘Are you gonna answer the question, detective?’

A hand grasped the Siyokoian’s shoulder, causing him to release his grip from the lamp, leaving it to swing idly.

‘You know the drill, Ken.’ A tall, fair-skinned elven man with white hair and glasses spoke with composure missing from his compatriot. ‘You hate this as much as we do, and we’re just going along with what our superiors want. So just give us your statement and we can let you go, just like that.’

‘Then why bring the angry red douchebag over here-’

‘Why you!’ The siyokoian nearly leapt across the table before the elf pulled him by the arm.

‘Detective, I would kindly suggest you don’t infuriate him any further.’ The elf recommended.

‘Alright, fine. But most of what I’ll say will corroborate what I’ve already written down on my reports.’

‘That’s fine. Corroboration is the key here after all.’

‘Then I’ll explain it from the beginning.’

Ken leaned back against his chair and rested with his hands behind his head. ‘So, I was involved with stopping that airship incident in Gold Ocean Hills.’

‘That was back in 8th July, correct?’ The elf asked, taking out a notepad and writing down on it.

‘Yep. We were there to celebrate my niece’s birthday. Didn’t turn out exactly the way I had planned, but me, my niece, and her friend were able to stop a handful of criminals from stealing an airship with all of them except for one getting caught.’

‘Your niece and her friend was involved in stopping the criminals? Why?’

‘Because she’s the reckless type. If she sees trouble, she’ll involve herself in it despite my protests. If it sounds concerning, my niece is studying as a mage in the Magus Academy, so she’s decently capable of handling herself in a fight. Her friend, on the other hand, was employed as a guard for the airship so he was gonna do something no matter what.’

‘Still. That was very reckless.’ The elf lowered his glasses, allowing his eyes to stare holes straight through Ken. ‘You do realise the dangers she’s getting herself into.’

Ken sighed. ‘Trust me, I’ve told her time and again. She’s got the same fire as her mother whether she’ll admit it or not.’

‘And who exactly is her mother?’ He asked, returning his gaze to the notepad.

‘Maria Larsen.’

His etching stopped. He slowly raised his eyes away from the notepad and looked at Ken with an expression of both horror and awe. ‘The “war-hero”?’

‘The one and only.’

The elf cleared his throat in an attempt to regain his composure. ‘…Continue after incident.’

‘Right, so. I ended up taking on a client that morning, namely the owner of the airship, Roswell Hein. He wanted me to find out who exactly planned the airship theft and why, and I agreed.’

‘Granted that he gave you payment, correct?’

‘Correct.’

He squinted his eyes at Ken, who continued to remain lax on his seat.

‘Why, is it illegal for a detective to take on private clients?’ Ken cheekily asked, knowing the answer.

‘Not in this country, no.’ He continued writing, barely hiding his seething at Ken. ‘Continue, detective.’

‘I already had a lead by that point after a lengthy discussion on the facts of the case with Officer Neumann, so it became a matter of time before I returned home and pursued it.’

‘And how exactly did you know this lead?’

And it was then that Ken began to twist the truth. ‘I got in contact with a mole put in place by the YPD. Of course, I can’t disclose the identity of said mole since it would jeopardise their position. All you need to know is that they took on the role as a fixer.’

‘Someone who hires others for criminal jobs.’

‘Exactly. And they pointed me out to a party in the Manafell District, one where the Yarrows were doing a trade with an unknown organisation. The fixer told me I needed to find out more on that trade, and so I followed along.’

‘How does this link back to the airship incident?’

‘According to the fixer, there were people involved in that meeting that were linked to incident. And with no other lead, I decided to follow along.’ Ken explained. ‘Now, here’s where things get hectic.’

‘That night, you arrived to the gala…’

‘And I happened to bump into an old friend of mine from Odingard.’

‘And?’

‘My niece, troublemaker that she is, decided to tail me with a friend’s help. That friend’s name is Riley O’Malley’ Ken sighed. ‘I really do wish that my niece would stop trying to involve herself, but as much as I wouldn’t like to admit it, her friend came through.’

‘How did your niece find you?’

‘She slipped a tracking rune in my coat before I left the house.’

‘Of course…’ The elf frustratedly replied.

‘Continuing on.’ Ken spoke. ‘The night proceeded as I had written on the report. I got trapped in that infinite hallway with the mist-headed woman, and Riley bailed me out by jumping us out through the window.’

‘According to the report you wrote, you also came across a room full of unconscious people. Some of which were known members of the Yarrows, while the rest were part of the Silver-Bloods.’

‘I knew about the Yarrows being there, but I didn’t hear about the other guys being Silver-Bloods.’ Ken clarified. ‘I don’t know much about those other guys.’

‘Regardless, you may continue.’

‘After that, I felt worried after finding out that my niece had come as well, and I started looking for her. I found her in the outdoor garden talking with my old friend-’

‘Chao-Xin Wen.’

‘Yep. And apparently, she had come to the party to try and link up with any potential investors for her bar, only for her to bump into her ex. It turned out that the ex was involved with some shady stuff, and after what I had experienced, I figured that she was probably involved with the infinite hallway.’

Ken sat up, and focused his attention elsewhere in the room as he got his details straight. ‘The Yarrows or their client must’ve found out that the meeting had been raided because I heard someone in the crowd yell “cover the ground floor!” or something like that. And so we ended up chasing the suspects upstairs all the way to the 50th floor where the skyscraper connected to the lower canopy.’

Ken watched as the siyokoian continued to eye him down with intense ferocity while the elf was calmly writing down everything he was saying. He continued.

‘We came across a squad of Green Guard soldiers all passed out, and I picked up a rifle, knowing that I was likely to get into an altercation. We then followed the criminals to the likeliest place they could be, the Dragonic Postal Service.

It was there that a fight took place. The mist-head thing was trying to cover the area with her “sleep mist”, but Riley was dispelling them. I then tried doing a warning shot between two of the suspects, but one of them threw a fireball and nearly took me out, so I ended up dislocating my shoulder. My niece shot a lightning bolt against the mist-head, severing her summoning. And then…’

Ken paused as his eyes seemingly pored over the events of that night. The elf watched as there seemed to be a hint of sadness that accompanied his stare. Ken continued.

‘Chao took my rifle and charged in. I guess she was trying to stop her ex from leaving again, and so she pointed it toward the suspects as they were about to escape. But the dragonrider was having none of that, so he took his pistol and aimed it at her.’

It was subtle, but the interrogators watched as ken’s eyes slightly furrowed themselves, a mix of anger and melancholy betraying the cool demeanour he had earlier. Ken then explained the final events of the night.

‘The suspect jumped in front of Chao, saving her from getting hit. But the bullet hit her back, probably entering her lung. I think it hit her lung since she ended up coughing out blood. Riley did what she could before paramedics arrived, but…’

‘What is the current status of the suspect?’ The elf asked.

‘Diseased. There were complications during the surgery, and she… didn’t make it.’

The elf, clearly bothered by his statement, attempted to ground himself in the moment by adjusting his glasses. ‘I see. Did you know the suspect?’

‘No. She was my friend’s ex, but I didn’t know her myself.’

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

‘Regardless, you have my sympathies, detective.’

Ken looked downwards across the metal table before him with an empty look in his eyes. For a moment, he looked like he would start speaking, perhaps confessing the guilt he felt over that night, but he simply shook his head and sighed.

‘That would be all, detective. You may leave.’

They watched as Ken exited the room, and waited a few more seconds after he had fully disappeared.

‘What do you think of his statement?’ The elf asked the siyokoian.

‘I think he’s full of shit.’ He answered back bluntly with a toothy grimace. ‘We should’ve booked him.’

‘He hasn’t done or said anything incriminating, Abel’ The elf looked at him, his eyes obscured by a stream of light reflecting off of his glasses. ‘If he’s taking part in illicit activities, we simply do not know for sure. We’d need evidence before taking it up to the chief.’

‘Aaagh! Screw the chief. He’s a crook!’

‘If he is a crook, then he’s a smart one. I don’t like that he takes on private cases, but you really have it out for him.’

‘Call it a gut feeling.’ He grumbled as he began to walk out of the interrogation room. ‘I’ll see you around, Ashi.’

‘Don’t do anything reckless.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m very much “reckful”.’

‘That’s not a word-’ He started to correct him before realising that he had already left. ‘Oh whatever.’

___

Thursday, 19st July, 1923

Beside Natalia was the sound of an IV drip-bag imitating a clock ticking away every second she had been spending in this hospital room. She stared out through the window at the end of the room, trying to watch the city through a thick layer of fog that had settled over the lower canopy. Idly, she traced a finger across the bandages wrapped around her and decided on meditating on the events that had lead her here. Before long, however, the door to her room opened, causing her to turn to a pale white-haired vulpine woman with red eyes. She had a bag slung over one shoulder.

‘Chao…’ She pushed herself back and straightened herself against the hospital bed’s back-support before grimacing.

‘Hey, just relax.’ Fang hurried to her side. Sitting herself on a stool beside the bed. ‘You’re still recovering, so don’t move around too much.’

‘Listen. I thought about everything and-’ Natalia spoke trying to find the proper words, catching herself in a bout of silence when she realised she couldn’t. And so, she decided on settling on two. ‘I’m sorry.’

Fang pursed her lips and drooped her ears. She eyed Nat up and down, bearing witness to the aftermath of the damage that had marred her. Fang’s hands then settled on Nat’s, gripping with a soft firmness that communicated everything between her desire to never let go, and the necessity of doing so.

‘I just…’ Nat whispered, ashamed and looking away from her.

‘I know.’

Between the IV drip and the howling winds outside her window, Fang had a moment to think on what she would say next. ‘I didn’t quite expect to reunite with both of my exes in the span of two days. I guess this is the type of cosmic irony I should come to expect.’

‘God. That sounds like ass to go through.’

‘Yeah. You don’t say.’

‘Just two different ghosts of the past come knocking at your door.’

‘And only one of them looks good in a suit.’

‘Oh?’ Nat gave a slanted smile. ‘Which one was it?’

‘Doesn’t matter. They both ruined their suits by the end of the night.’

Nat groaned. ‘Right. My suit…’

‘Still. You listened to my advice from years ago.’

‘Yeah, you were right. I look great in white.’

‘And red apparently.’

Nat raised an eyebrow at Fang but couldn’t hide her smile. ‘Well, just remember that I did exactly what every other lover would say that they’d do for their significant other.’

‘Don’t tell me you’re gonna hold this over me!’ Fang huffed.

‘Mhm.’ Nat nodded and leaned back. ‘You’re just gonna have to treat me extra well from now on.’

‘Oh, you’re an egotistical ass.’

‘A-ah-’ Nat winced in pain, causing concern in Fang for a moment. Nat continued to play up a fake spike of pain. ‘Oh no~ Chao… I’m in so much pain…’

‘Wha-’ Fang’s brow furrowed upon realising it was an act. ‘You jerk.’

‘I’m in so much pain~’ Nat placed her hand against her forehead, shutting her eyes and pouting. ‘No medicine is powerful enough to ease it~’

Fang sighed as she watched Nat peek at her from behind her hand. Fang lifted her knee, placing it beside her lover atop the bed, and leaned in close, her face hovering right above hers. ‘Then how’s this?’

Fang peeled back Nat’s hand and planted her lips on hers.

They settled in that moment, letting the world go in the process. The warm sensation of interlocking lips filled them with an old flame that Fang had thought was gone for the longest time, a flame that she knew could turn into a blaze should she not control herself. And so they stayed for a while longer than either of them had expected.

However, Fang practised some self-restraint. She pulled herself back from her lover’s open mouth, placing her index finger on her bottom lip.

‘You’re very energetic for a dead woman.’ Fang stated.

‘What?’

Fang stepped off of the bed away from Nat spending a couple seconds adjusting her clothes. Nat watched as she calmly and coldly opened her bag, pulling out what seemed to be a folder, and from that folder, a single document, which she handed to Nat.

It was a death certificate. One that listed “Natalia Volkova”.

‘Chao. What is this?’

‘You remember my ex?’

‘The detective?’

‘He pulled a couple of strings to make sure you stay out of jail. And well, they can’t jail a dead woman.’

‘But he can’t just do this-’

‘It was my idea.’ Fang confessed.

Nat stared at the woman she loved with shock on her face. Fang continued to speak.

‘I’m gonna get you a ticket to Odingard-’

‘Wait-’

‘-and you’re gonna start a new life-

‘Chao-’

‘-we’re gonna be apart again, but at least this time you’ll be free from everything-’

‘Chao! I’m not leaving!’

‘Nat.’ Fang sat back down beside her and stared her down with a piercing glare. ‘They’re not just gonna ignore what you did that night.’

‘I know, but-’

‘There’s already a shitstorm of people trying to figure out what the hell exactly happened. Ken’s currently lying out of his ass out trying to keep you under wraps, and if people knew that you’re still alive, just think about how many people you pissed off. How many people will be more than happy to torture and kill you for information.’

Nat looked downward at nothing in particular. It was all too much to handle at once, the thought of being “dead”, the act of having to leave Chao once again, and the fact she was the one who was making her leave.

‘You don’t want me around?’

‘Nat, that’s not-’

‘I know. I said it wrong, but-’ Nat bore a look of melancholy. ‘You waited for me, and I never came back. Now that I’m with you again, you still-’

‘Hey.’ Fang caressed her face with a single hand, pulling her focus on her. ‘I want nothing more than to be with you again.’

‘Then…’

‘But I need you alive. I nearly lost you for good, and I don’t care about being around you if it means that you aren’t around any-more.’

Nat clutched her hand, staring longingly into the eyes of the woman in front of her. ‘You deserve so much better than a disappearing act for a girlfriend.’

‘But I still choose you regardless.’

‘Chao…’

‘Just remember, Odingard’s my home. I can easily return to you whenever I get the chance, so don’t get too mopey.’

‘Heh…’ Nat couldn’t stop herself from letting out a laugh as she stared at Fang.

‘What is it?’

‘You’re just… Really mature, you know that?’

‘What? Like I wasn’t before?’

‘I mean…’

Nat felt a twisting pain as Fang pinched her stomach. ‘Ow!’

‘Hmph. I’ve always been mature. You just never noticed.’

Nat smiled warmly at the vulpine woman continuing to pout.

‘I love you, Chao-Xin Wen.’

Fang practically melted hearing those words. She had longed for them for an eternity, and upon being greeted by them, she couldn’t help but be reminded that she’d be yearning for them again. But for now, she came in close and held her in her arms, even letting her tail wrap around her for a full embrace.

‘I love you too, Natalia Volkova.’

___

Friday, 20st July, 1923

Past a roundabout a good distance south from the Rabuddon police precinct, and a little further past a wet market was a park with a decently large lake at the center of it shimmering with the glistening blue lights of the Great Tree at night. At the moment, a little while past the traffic rush of people leaving work for the day, it was largely empty.

Ken checked his watch and saw that he had reached the park at about 6:45 PM. He sat upon a bench overlooking the lake, breathing in the supernaturally crisp air and watching a handful of slyphs dancing upon the water’s surface. It was a favourite spot of the fae as it was one of the few places in the city that had retained a sense of nature to it, a place kept somewhat sacred and mostly untouched by massive amounts of industry that surrounded it. In fact, apart from the pavement that lined a path through this park, there wasn’t much of anything resembling modernity within its premises. The place was lit up by little orbs of fairy fires, and if one were to focus past the wooden railings made from magically twisted wood, one would mistake themselves to be in a forest.

Eventually, a set of footsteps resounded against the concrete pathway, but Ken continued to watch the lake.

‘I didn’t take you to be the type to enjoy the sights of this place.’ A posh feminine voice resounded. ‘How’s the arm, by the way?’

Ken turned to face the source of the voice, the leonun lorekeeper of the Grand Library, Agatha Meyer.

‘I’ll have you know that I can be quite appreciative of a good view, and the arm’s fine.’

Agatha raised an eyebrow. ‘The good view of a woman’s backside and not much else.’

Ken chuckled as he turned back to the lake.

Agatha walked over and sat beside him. ‘I don’t suppose this is just an invitation to have a nice evening with a friend, so is this flirting or is this something important?’

Ken reached into his trench-coat and pulled out a dossier, handing it to her. ‘Something important.’

‘What is it?’ She asked as she took it from him, opening it and immediately furrowing her brows. ‘This is-’

‘Just a copy. The Yarrows aren’t willing to part with the original.’

She stared at the forgery of the alfrian manuscript and began to analyse it. ‘Well, I would very much prefer the original if possible.’

‘I think there’s something more important that I need to bring up.’

‘Oh?’

‘There were people that were after it. You read about the attack in the skyscraper?’

‘I did. It was front-page.’

‘They summoned an entity from the outer-planes and from what I’ve surmised, they likely saw the manuscript through the memory of the boss of the Yarrows.’

Agatha let out a short sigh as she heard him. ‘An outer-planar entity… What the hell…’

‘Agatha.’ Ken called out, his eyes piercing through her with a seriousness she didn’t expect from him. ‘There’s something about the manuscript that makes it dangerous.’

‘But…’ Agatha stuttered as she struggled to think. ‘I-I-I don’t think that it should lead them to anything in particular. I-I mean, this is still undeciphered; there’d be no way for them to make any sense of it.’

She stared at the pages in her hands and pored over every detail as if it would somehow unlock its meaning to her. ‘Unless…’

‘Unless what?’

‘It’s impossible. I’ve mentioned it to Sandra, but this is an alfrian and sylvian manuscript. It is essentially written in alfrian script but carries the words from sylvian runic. It’s a dual-cipher that researchers struggled to decipher just half of.’

‘But what about the fae. What do they speak?’

‘Edon, Ken. They speak Edon.’ Her expression turned to one of annoyance. ‘What we’re speaking now.’

Ken felt innocently idiotic but decided to continue his line of questioning. ‘But isn’t sylvian the main language of the fae realm?’

She sighed, silently accepting of the fact that Ken was entirely ignorant on matters of the fae. ‘The fae realm or “Elpheim” as we have called it, is a world connected to ours in certain forests in Iver. The thing is, this place is hardly documented and what we do know are merely stories told by the fae that have crossed over to our world. They had lost their ability to speak sylvian the moment they did so.’

‘Wait, how does that work?’

‘We’re not fully sure, but researchers think that sylvian isn’t just a vocal or written language, but an arcane one too. The fae are known to be unparalleled in terms of innate arcana. Where many people of our world have to rely on channelling tools like staves and runes, they seem to have evolved in a place specifically much denser in ether. And from stories told, the closer to the centre of Elpheim, the denser the ether becomes.’

Ken scratched his head. ‘So what does that mean for their language?’

‘How are we speaking right now?’

Ken turned his head and pondered for a moment. ‘Well, I might not have grown up well-educated but from what I recall reading, our vocal chords squeeze together in specific ways, and when air comes out from our lungs, a noise gets made.’

‘Right, but specifically, noise is made from sound-waves that propagate through the air.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Now think about ether as another type of air.’

It took a second for Ken to fully figure out what she was implying, but once the idea hit him, he stared at Agatha astonished. ‘Then high ether-density is necessary to propagate their language.’

‘Exactly. Now extend that to writing as well.’

‘Then if spells rely on the knowledge of the mage to be cast, then…’

‘We can’t even begin to comprehend how to read it.’ Agatha took her glasses off of her face and began to wipe them. All the while Ken had entered a sort of trance as he retreated into the recesses of his mind to piece together the mystery laid before him.

From what Agatha had stated, the manuscript was written in alfrian script, but contains words that are directly transliterated from sylvian. It was impossible to decode sylvian in this world, which stumped the both of them. However, a thought occurred to him.

‘Agatha?’

‘Yes?’

‘How did the library get their hands on the manuscript?’

Agatha pondered for a moment. ‘Well, from what the records state, it was an elf named “Francois Vanderbilt” that committed it to the library as a donation. It was back in 1825.’

‘And how old is the manuscript?’

‘Well.’ Agatha placed her glasses back unto her face as she thought about it. ‘It’s written in a wood-based paper that was common back in the 1800s as paper started becoming mass-produced.’

‘So, around the time when the donation occurred?’ Ken raised a brow.

‘Indeed-’ Agatha gasped. ‘Then the person who wrote it likely had ties to the person who ended up donating it to the library.’

‘Maybe so.’ Ken leaned back as he sighed, feeling the edge of a migraine settling at the back of his mind. ‘Say… How old do elves live for?’

‘About two hundred years these days.’ She answered back. ‘They lost any semblance of immortality when their kind left Elpheim.’

‘I see.’ Ken turned to Agatha, sulking still from the onset of a headache. ‘What are the chances our man “Vanderbilt” is still alive?’

‘Based off of his estimated age, there is a chance for it, yes.’

‘I see…’ Ken said, standing up and stretching. ‘I think I got what I was mainly after. I gave a copy to Sandra in the hopes that she could rope in some of her close friends in school to decipher it.’

‘Isn’t that dangerous?’

‘The kid’s attracted to danger. Regardless, you said it yourself. It’s impossible to decipher, so she’ll just end up getting into a goose chase that’ll lead nowhere, which will keep her far away from all the action.’

‘Still, I don’t like that she’s involved at all.’ Agatha stood up, her height very much towering over Ken. ‘She’s already shortening her lifespan by pursuing magic with that red-eye curse of hers, I don’t want her to shorten it further.’

‘I know, Agatha. We’ve already fought a lot over it.’ Ken frowned. ‘But you already know her. If she wants something-’

‘Then you should discourage her!’ Agatha yelled

‘There is no discouraging her!’ Ken yelled back. ‘She and her mother are cut from the same damn stubborn cloth.’

She stared downward to the floor, her face becoming forlorn. ‘I just want that kid to be safe.’

‘She will be.’ Ken promised with the weight of uncertainty looming over his heart. ‘I won’t let anything happen to her.’

He turned to face the exit of the park, preparing to walk off, but looked back to face her one more time. ‘I’ll be headed off. Do you want me to walk you home?’

‘No. I’m fine.’

‘Alright.’ Ken was about to leave, but another thought crossed his mind. ‘Oh, one more thing.’

‘Yes?’

‘The manuscript is transliterated to alfrian, correct?’

‘Indeed it is.’

‘Then we don’t need to face the ether issue since alfrian doesn’t need dense ether to convey its meaning.’

‘I-I suppose that makes sense.’

‘The words are already written in alfrian script, just untranslated from sylvian. What’s left is finding someone who can translate it.’

‘So you’re gonna be looking for the man who gave it to the library.’

‘No other choice. It’s my only lead.’

Ken turned away and began to walk the path out of the park, his form wading through the spotlights made by the fairy fires and the unilluminated darkness between each of them, until he eventually disappeared from view.

CHAPTER END