Enjoying the peaceful tranquility of Earless' absence, Mouthless was lazily lounging on the sofa as he read the daily newspaper. An article containing a picture of men gathering around a smoking tram caught his eye.
"...While we still do not know definitively what caused the tram to derail, investigators from the Magic Tower declared the most likely trigger to be faulty energy transmitter which caused an explosion inside the carriage. While there are no official announcements yet regarding the mass hysteria, an insider source revealed that a Tower operative was carrying a liquid compound with hallucinogenic properties."
"... 9 lives were lost in this incident, and the remaining 19 passengers are still being treated in the hospital. While some of them have physically recovered, all of them are still experiencing seizures and panic attacks. The Department of Public Safety and Security promised that all the victims will receive the best medical and mental care to aid in their recovery."
"....The Magic Tower requested Stromos Cooperation to take responsibility over the explosion. However, a spokesperson from Stromos Cooperation publicly challenged the Magic Tower to also reveal the contents the Tower operative was carrying."
"... Despite strong public outcry, the Department of Public Safety and Security have declared that they will only intervene if necessary, but will merely monitor the situation for now."
"The Lady bless bureaucrats for making our work easier." Boss walked into the lounge area with a glass of wine. "While I do see the merits of bureaucracy and hierarchal organisations, society's over-reliance on pen-pushers and powerful middle-aged men will only cause things to escalate."
It looks like the Magic Tower is desperate to cover things up, Mouthless gestured.
"Of course they will. Asides from this magical incident being a slap to their face, we can just leak news of the assassination attempts to the media if their come after us. Gerome is still alive, but that doesn't change the fact we managed to sneak into his guarded office multiple times.
By the way, where did you ask Earless to go? Mouthless asked and passed the newspaper over to Boss.
"To do some light reconnaissance." Boss sat down on the leather armchair opposite Mouthless, completely at ease in the opulent room. "Despite his tendency to speak loudly, he is an extremely quiet and proficient spy when he works alone."
"By the way, how many more uses of the pen do you have?" Boss asked as he sipped on his wine.
Four more. We used one to bypass the city wards and another one yesterday. Mouthless took out the pen as well as an emerald knife and placed them both on the table.
"Alright, keep it for now. This, on the other hand, is exquisite," Boss' eyes glinted as he picked up the emerald knife. "Souvenir from yesterday?" Mouthless nodded.
After unrolling his sleeves, Boss slashed the knife across his forearm. Instead of blood, a thick oily substance trickled out from the wound. Boss whistled appreciatively.
"Magical tool crafting has come so far. I haven't been physically wounded for a long time." Boss handed the knife handle towards Mouthless. His eyes turned black as he concentrated on the wound which quickly mended itself.
"You need to be very careful with that, boy." Boss relaxed and refilled his wine glass. "I hope you won't get too attached to it, we might find another use for it later."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
* * *
"I wonder how much longer we have to wait." Eyeless said as he drank his hot chocolate.
"It shouldn't be much longer." Noseless replied, still focused on the newspaper. He chuckled when he flipped to the centre page. "Our colleagues have been busy."
"What do you mean?" Eyeless asked.
"Look at t..., never mind." Noseless was about to hand the newspaper over, but stopped when he remembered who was in front of him. He summarised the article as Eyeless paid close attention.
"They really stirred the hornet's nest." Eyeless remarked as he reached out for a cookie. "They already used the pen you provided from the sound of it?"
"I think so. Normal people are easily affected by sudden exposure to the Black Fog." Noseless said.
"However, it is strange that even the Tower agents were affected. The Fog might be more more corrosive than we originally anticipated." Noseless continued as he folded the paper.
"That's good for us though, isn't it? Makes our work much more easier." Eyeless reached out for another biscuit but realised the plate was empty. "Oi. Gimme more."
The terrified innkeeper quickly brought over a plate of freshly baked cookies. As she took the empty plate away, she shivered at the furry swarm in the corner of the room. Except for her husband's horrified eyes, the rest of his body was covered by rats running all over him.
Eyeless nodded in delight as he munched the cookies. "The quality of food is much more better nowadays. Try some." He pushed the plate over to Noseless.
"No thanks. I don't have a sweet tooth. Not to mention I can't taste much either, you know." Noseless looked at the mass of rats. "The poor guy is going to have a mental breakdown soon if you don't stop."
"Ah. But I don't see how that's my problem." Noseless rolled his eyes at Eyeless' pun. "Why? Growing soft?"
"No, it's just that I am trying hard to focus on my paper and that isn't helpful." Noseless wrinkled his brows in distaste as he kicked a stray rat near him.
Eyeless sighed ruefully and dispelled his control over the rats. Instead of individually scattering, the rats melted into an oily puddle all over the innkeeper's husband.
The black oil covering the husband started hissing and bubbling furiously. The innkeeper tried pouring water to douse the oil, but she couldn't stop his body started from dissolving into a puddle of gunk.
Howling in grief and agony, the innkeeper tried to futilely gather her husband's remains. However, a sudden force pushed her away from the puddle.
A short while later, a man wearing an immaculate three-piece suit with a black top hat rose from the black punk. While one would expect him to be covered in oil, his entire outfit was fresh and pristine.
Eyeless folded the newspaper neatly and placed it on the table.
"Faceless! It's nice to see you again." Eyeless rushed towards Faceless, but Faceless quickly froze him in a time-freeze spell. The howling innkeeper was quickly frozen as well.
"Nice to see you, Faceless." Noseless calmly said as he remained seated. "You seem to be stronger."
Faceless tipped his hat and walked towards Noseless, careful to step puddle.
"Indeed. All thanks to the Lady's kindness." Faceless sat across the table. "My powers have grown a little, but there's still much room for improvement."
"Always the modest one." Noseless chuckled. "So, what have you gained?"
"You will know when you need to." Faceless unfroze Eyeless and ignored his curses as Eyeless fell on the floor. "I suggest we leave?"
"Sure, just give me a moment to clean things up." Noseless strode towards the still-frozen innkeeper and pressed his thumb against her forehead. Her eyes briefly turned black and she slumped unconsciously to the ground.
"Why not just kill her?" Eyeless asked Noseless as he stood back up. Meanwhile, Faceless placed his hand on the puddle and sucked the black oil into his palm.
"I only kill when necessary." Noseless shrugged. "It's unfortunate what happened to her husband, but I consider this payment for the drinks and biscuits."
"Just make sure you remove anything that involves us." Faceless commented as he washed his hands in the nearby kitchen sink.
"Don't worry, I've wiped her memories of the past five hours." Noseless said. "So, where to?"
"Cormed. The Lady informed me that one of the Immortal's disciples is hiding there. We need to find him, or her, first before we go after the Immortal." Faceless replied.
"Sounds good. Should we take the train?" Noseless asked.
"I've a better idea." Faceless' shadow turned into an oily pool and spread towards Noseless and Eyeless. After the oil gathered around their feet, the three of them disappeared into the puddles of oil and left.