“That’s the fifth jewelry store robbery in the last week,” Damien said in frustration. “The captain’s on my ass about catching the culprit, but I have no idea how this is happening! None of the wards in any of the stores were tripped. It’s like the thief just… teleported in, grabbed the stuff, and teleported out, all without his presence triggering the detection wards or the anti-teleportation wards, the latter of which only one place had the money for, since those things are Champion-class magic. And most of this stuff was locked in, and the locks were untouched! This is impossible!”

“Yeah, I get you,” his fellow city watchman Ash said. “I’ve got some murder cases that I’m not making any progress on, too. The deaths are all people we think are part of the Ten-Will crime family, so it’s not like I’m being given a lot of room to investigate, but they all look like gas poisoning. Except there’s no sign of any alchemical gear or even empty canisters. So… magical gas attacks? The effects of on the bodies were pretty gruesome, too. But if we’re looking at a mage that strong, why use gas instead of just fireballing them or zapping ‘em with lightning?”

“Talking about your mystery serial cases?” Linde said, walking over. The elf gave the human and saurian a commiserating smile. “I’m still dealing with the reports of mutated plants and wildlife.”

“Look sharp, boys and girls!” their captain’s voice boomed. The draconid gestured around the communal office. “We’re about to get some visitors from the Ruler’s Tower. A couple of newbie investigators and their chaperone. They want to know about any unexplained cases that have cropped up within the last few months. They should be here in about ten minutes.”

The visitors in question were somewhat odd, Damien decided when they arrived. A young human man who was clearly a mage – bicolored hair, matching lightning and fire scars – and a young saurian woman who was just as obviously a fighter, judging by her muscles. The human had a strange cyan-furred creature resting on top of his head, likely a familiar. Their escort was a Tower Soldier, armed with an axe, but neither of the “newbie investigators” had obvious weapons; Damien figured they were wearing quick-change rings.

“So these magical gas attacks… they’re not a normal way to kill.”

“Definitely not. What kind of sicko would use a spell like that? I mean, even in actual skirmishes between the Towers, nobody would dare use something that killed that horribly. Whoever is doing this wants their victims to suffer.”

The saurian woman tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Either that, or this is the most effective method they have available.”

“Any mage strong enough to cast something like that—”

“What circle would you estimate would be required?”

“I dunno. Fifth, maybe?”

“A fifth circle mage killing members of a ‘crime family’ without being gutsy enough to make it known who they are? Fifth circle is Master. There’s no way.” She shook her head. “This is something else. Don’t you think, Rai?”

“It’s too early to say for sure, but it definitely bears investigating. And you, watchman Damien – there’s no way you can think of that these thefts could be pulled off?”

“Well… not really, no. If there was some way of bypassing any and all wards, and putting your hands through solid objects, but… that’s not a thing.”

“Hm. I think both of these cases are worth checking out. Are there any patterns to what shops were hit?”

“They’re all relatively close to a particular poorer district, albeit in different directions. I only noticed that after the last one – they’re not super close, after all.”

“And is there another jewelry place that fits that criterion?”

“There are two more I can think of. I’ve already warned both places. The thief has hit every night for the last three nights, so I suspect they’ll strike again either tonight or tomorrow night.”

“Then… let’s take that case first. Isa, you and I will split up and wait near the different shops.”

“Then who will I stick with?” their escort said.

“Neither. We need you to be on standby for both of us, somewhere between the two locations – preferably near that poorer district in case the thief gets away from us.”

“Hm. All right.”

“Once we’ve figured out the thief, we’ll work on the murderer. Damien, can you add those shops to my map as points of interest?”

“Yeah, sure. Are you going to need any backup tonight?”

“Can you spare anyone for that?”

“Take Damien and Linde with you,” the captain said.

“I’m not usually involved with criminal cases…” Linde said.

“You’re just there as backup. The thief hasn’t hurt anyone so far, so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a danger for you.”

“Are there any other cases of interest?” Isa asked.

“Well, I don’t know if this qualifies, but I’ve been getting a lot of reports about plant and animal mutants in the area around the municipal park,” Linde said.

“That definitely qualifies,” Rai said. “We’ll check up on that next.”

“What do a thief, a murderer, and mutant plants have in common?” Ash asked.

“They may all have the same root cause,” Rai said. “And that potential root cause is the reason we’re investigating.”

“What kind of cause would that be?”

“A classified one,” Rai answered. “In case you’ve forgotten, we are representing the Ruler’s Tower. I’m sure you can imagine there’s a lot that we’re not at liberty to talk about.”

“Fair enough.”

-x-

Rai sat inside a horseless carriage – though it was called a ‘runner’ – with Damien and Braveheart across the street from a small jewelry store, watching through the glass windows on the sides. This particular part of the city had much less traffic in the middle of the night, but it wasn’t totally silent; there were still a number of pedestrians, and every so often a foot-powered vehicle – Rai had been told they were called ‘bicycles’ – would roll on by. The sky was overcast, and a light drizzle made everything slightly shiny from the thin coating of water. The magic lamps along the street kept everything well-lit enough to see on the street itself, but it was still fairly dark.

Suddenly, Braveheart perked up.

Rai instantly leaned forward and looked around, but all he saw was the young couple holding hands and walking by, untouched by the rain thanks to the enchantments on their clothing.

“Where?” he asked.

“I don’t see anyone.”

“Are you talking to your familiar?” Damien asked.

“She says she senses someone headed for the jewelry shop.”

“What? Walking inside the wall?”

“They’re inside the shop now? Damien, stay outside the shop and back me up if I get into trouble.”

“Got it.”

They both exited the vehicle and Rai hurried over to the door of the jewelry shop. He tried the handle.

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“It’s still locked. You said they walked through the wall?”

“Dammit. Dimension Hop,” he cast.

Rai disappeared and reappeared inside the store. A piercing wail sounded as he tripped the proximity alarm. He looked at the case of rings and necklaces and before his eyes, several of them vanished one at a time.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, and a moment later he silently cast Dancing Sparks. When he opened his eyes, he was stunned that no invisible being was outlined in sparks.

“Not invisible? But… how?”

Without warning, Braveheart jumped off his head and landed on something midair right next to him.

“Yi-yi-yi!”

Rai felt his mana drain slightly as the first circle spell Shocking Palm cast itself – or rather, Braveheart cast it by drawing on his mana through their bond. Blue-green lightning rushed through the shape of a person. The form staggered, once again becoming unseen as the jolt faded. Then Braveheart was thrown to the floor with a yelp.

“Braveheart!”

Rai scooped up the carbuncle. “Are you alright?”

“Yi-meep!”

“Dimension Hop!”

Rai reappeared outside. “Damien! Suspect is invisible, but not showing up to invisibility detection!”

Braveheart jumped out of Rai’s hands and began running. “We’re following Braveheart! Alert my ‘chaperone!’”

“On it!”

Eventually, they approached near the poorer district that Damien had mentioned and Braveheart stopped in front of what was clearly a brothel.

“Well… this is going to be awkward.”

Damien caught up. “Your familiar says they’re inside?”

“Yeah. I… have never been in a place like this.”

“Neither have I. But we’re on the job, so we have to do what we have to do.”

Rai shoved the door open and was immediately assaulted with pink lights and the overpowering scent of floral perfume.

“Welcome,” a scantily-clad woman around his age greeted him as he entered. “Is this your first time? What do you prefer?”

Damien entered in after him. “Sorry, but we’re here for business, not pleasure.” He showed his city watch badge. “There is a thief here, either a client or one of yours. They’ve stolen jewelry from tonight makes it six shops. We’re going to need to look around.”

“You think you can just show a badge and barge in here and do whatever you want?” a plump middle-aged human woman in a dress said angrily, storming up. “I’m the madam here, and I want you gone! I’ll not have you disturbing my clients or scaring my girls!”

“Can you still sense them?” Rai asked Braveheart.

“Yi-meep!” she affirmed. She darted toward the stairs.

“Sorry, madam, but this is more important than just some thievery,” Rai said. “Whoever is responsible may be in danger.”

“In danger? I protect—”

“Not from people. This thief has somehow acquired a strange power not in line with normal magic. If I’m correct, the source of that power is a very dangerous object that may end up harming, driving insane, or even killing them.”

“And who are you? You don’t look like a city watchman.”

“I’m with the Ruler’s Tower.” Rai held up a badge he had been given to prove his affiliation.

“O-oh. Well, then…”

“Damien, can you stay here and keep watch? If they slip past me…”

“Got it.”

Rai headed to the stairs and climbed up to the second floor, glancing around and spotting Braveheart standing in front of one of the doors.

Rai walked over to the door and tried the handle.

Locked, he thought. Well then… I’ll just make it “Unlock.”

The lock clicked and he opened the door to what was clearly one of the rooms meant for servicing clients. There was a girl, a human no more than eighteen or nineteen, sitting on the bed with jewelry scattered around her. She had short black hair and wore a thin, low-cut red dress, and she looked up at Rai with a startled, then frightened expression.

“Mi-meep!”

“I’m surprised you managed to take that lightning and keep running,” he said. “Did you deliberately hold back, Braveheart?”

“Ah, I see.” Rai turned his attention back to the girl. “What’s your name? I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.”

The girl said nothing, shaking her head.

“You don’t trust me, I understand. After all, my familiar did give you quite a zap. But I’m not even really after you. The city watch is, of course, and one came with me; he’s downstairs. What I want to know is how you got that special power of yours.”

The girl stayed silent.

“Did it come from a black rock that glowed with a green light?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“I thought so. Listen, that rock is dangerous. Extremely dangerous. It can… change you. In ways you don’t want. I need to recover that rock before it hurts people any more than it already has.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. Tom… Tom has it.”

“And Tom is…?”

“My brother.”

“Is he the one who’s been killing members of that crime family?”

She nodded.

“The power it gave you, to phase through things. Did it give him the ability to make poison gas?”

She nodded again. “Our powers… they run out, and we need to use the rock to get them back.”

So. They’re not actually mages. These powers… it makes them “false mages,” I guess, Rai thought. They absorb star energy from the fragment to recharge the powers it gave them. But what other effects has it had?

“I need to get that stone back. If Tom keeps it – if either of you keep it – it could hurt you. It could drive you insane, mutate you, kill you. Please. Help me out, and I’ll try to reduce your punishment.”

She shook her head. “They’ll execute me. Any theft more than a thousand gold is execution.”

“That’s… extreme. Okay, how’s this then: if you hand over everything you’ve stolen that you haven’t fenced yet, and help me get the stone back from your brother, I promise you I’ll prevent your execution.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s either that or I just turn you over to the watch now and use you as bait to draw out your brother. Which one do you want?”

Braveheart jumped up onto the bed and crawled into the girl’s lap.

“Yi…”

The girl started, then slowly stroked the carbuncle’s soft fur.

“…Okay.”

-x-

“You agreed to prevent her execution in exchange for her help getting this ‘source’ away from her brother, who is the murderer that Ash has been after?” the captain of the watch of the Fenarin sector of the city said.

“That’s right. The object that gave them those powers is much more dangerous than simply a few thefts… or frankly, a few murders. I… also didn’t make her any promises about her brother, though she may have assumed that what I said applied there too. Sparing a thief the death penalty makes perfect sense when the stakes are so high.”

“I’ll need to speak to your superior about this.”

“I understand.”

A short while later, when the captain had finished long-distance conversation via magical item with Warden Exija, he gave his approval to Rai, and Tina, the thief from the brothel, was released to lead them to her brother. This time, several watchmen came along with Rai and Isa. Tina led them to what the others called an “apartment building” in the poorer district. Rai turned himself, Isa, and Braveheart invisible, and they followed her up the outside stairs to the door of the room where her brother was staying. Though it was early morning, it was still dark thanks to the moderate rain and cloud-covered skies.

She knocked.

“Tom… I need to talk to you.”

A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing a disheveled-looking boy around Tina’s age with sickly yellow skin.

“Why aren’t you selling the goods? Why are you here?”

“The watch, they almost caught me,” she lied.

“And so you’re leading them right back to me?”

“We… we have enough now. Money, revenge. We—”

“My revenge won’t be complete until I’ve killed every last one of those fuckers,” Tom swore. “And we won’t have enough money until we can move to a rich part of the city and you don’t have to sell yourself anymore.”

“But, the stone… it’s making you sick, and… and sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind; I forget things I shouldn’t. I…”

Tom’s eyes twitched. “The rain…”

“Huh?”

“It’s not landing there… Invisible people! You were followed?! No… you brought them here!”

“Tom, please!”

Tom held his right arm forward, elbow bent and palm upward, fingers curled. A sickly green vapor began to appear surrounding his hand, then flowed outward, bending around his sister and expanding once it reached Rai and Isa to engulf them.”

Rai felt the vapors flood into his body, not just through his lungs, but through his pores, and a wrongness assaulted his every sense. It felt like his body was being torn apart from the inside and being turned inside out. He pushed past Tina and into the building, Isa following close behind. The cloud of death followed them. Rai turned coughed, “Shocking Palm,” smacking Tom’s back and sending a fully-powered (nonlethal) spell’s worth of lightning into his body. The boy’s body seized and he collapsed as Rai became visible.

Rai coughed again as the cloud dissipated. His skin was a sickly yellow and covered in pock marks. On his head, Braveheart let out pained cries.

“Tom!”

“He’s alive.”

“But how will he get away from the watch like this?!”

“He tried to kill us!” Isa shouted angrily.

“Tom would never… revenge on the Ten-Will is one thing, but he’d never hurt innocents!”

“Oh yeah? Take a good look at Rai’s face and say that again!”

“The star fragment did this to your brother,” Rai said. “It turned him into a killer.” Or maybe he was always just lacking the ability, not the will, he thought to himself. “I need to find the fragment.” He pulled out the Recovery Rod and used it on Isa and Braveheart, then coughed again. Can only use that twice per day… Well, at least they don’t have to suffer.

“Rai! Why did you use that on me instead of yourself? Idiot!”

“Braveheart, can you find…?”

A quick search of the one-room apartment turned up the star fragment, which was glowing even more strongly than the one the rock collector had had. He quickly put it in the pouch. He dismissed the invisibility on Isa and Braveheart when he heard the sound of boots on stairs. The city watch arrived shortly thereafter to take both Tina and Tom into custody.

“You look like hell,” Ash commented.

“At least I survived it,” Rai said wryly. “He doesn’t even need to say anything to summon the poison gas, and he can control it, too, not just summon it. He should be unconscious for close to a full day, but you’ll need to be very careful when he wakes up.”

“Thanks again, Rai – and you too, Isa,” Ash said.

“Meep!”

“And you, Braveheart. We really couldn’t have done it without you,” Damien said. “Were you able to get the dangerous thing?”

“I was. Nobody else will be affected by it. Before we head back, we need to check on the mutations – it might be from the same object or another one, and if it’s another one, we need to get it before serious harm occurs.”

“Linde will take you to the park, then, I guess. See you back at the station.”