Eldritch Guidance

“Do you hear that, listen. NO! STOP READING AND LIStEN!!!!..... Did you hear it? Yes? NO. You LIE. How could you hear? You offered no bones. YOu must offer your BoNes to it, you’ll hear it. Then hear it. Then hear it. You’ll hear the rattle. DOn’t want TO offer you bones, THEN OFFER SOMEONE ELSE'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“What is the rattle? YOU FOOOL! Why ask such stupid thing? Iteverything!?!?! It is the beginning anD the end. It is the inspiration for everything. Offer/bones and yOu tooo shall receive that inspiration. +Once you have muuSt create. You^ must expressSs. Not those laug*hable mockeries those fakes make, but something true and real!!!

“TAKE BONES FROM OTHERs! It's not like they're using (it) for anything important. Then mAke $omething from it. Offer up to the RaTtLE, and receive more inspiration. If you makey something good, maybe, just maybe, maybe, just maybe, you’ll receive not just inspiration, BUT__KNOWLEDGE.

“MaYBE, you learn how to make the BoneS dance. Wouldn’t that be glorious? Such fun when the bones dance, but they don’t just dance. No, no, nononononononononononononononono, they can help elevate your creation!!?!?!% Letz you make somethinG truly GReAT. The grejater YoUr creation, tHe grea*ter INSPIrATION! Oh mY, what would the rattle sound like with sUch a grEeat creation?

“Tell me? Have you heard the rattle?”

—”The Rattle Scratchings” a near illegible text written by a unknown person of the Rattle Bone Cult

Within the lecture hall where the meeting between the enforcer and police was held, Alan and Jafar sat at a table in front of a young officer in a trench coat who looked nervous.

Mitra had paired off everyone into different police units. Alan and Jafar had been paired off into the Joe Striker unit. It seemed to the students here that each unit was just named after whoever was the leader of that police unit.

Once Mitra announced what unit each enforcer would be working with, everyone broke off into groups to discuss amongst themselves. This is how Alan found himself sitting in the corner of the lecture hall with this young-looking investigator.

Dan: “Oh, um. No, My name is Dan. Just another investigator working in Joe’s unit.”

Alan: “Oh.”

Jafar: “Um, I thought all the leaders of the police units were supposed to be here.”

Dan: “They are, but… Joe was a little busy. So I had to come in his stead,” he said with a stiff smile.

Jafar: “Ok…”

A silence followed the awkward exchange. Neither party here knew what they were supposed to talk about. The group needed leadership, but it didn’t look like anyone between the three of them was going to rise to that occasion.

Suddenly, a voice came from the side to break the awkwardness going on between Alan and Dan.

Rell: “Hello there. I’ve been assigned as the enforcer leader of this unit. My name is Rell.” he said while holding a brown folder full of documents in his hand.

The enforcer leader wore glasses and had slicked-back brown hair. Rell was shorter than Alan and stood at six feet (1.82 Meters). He wore the white clothing of a senior enforcer with gray accents in it. Indicating he was also of the Grayscale College. His sharp eyes and overall appearance gave the impression of someone who was no-nonsense.

Seeing that Rell was from the Grayscale college, Alan suddenly felt a little bit of apprehension. Sorin, the one who killed his friend Cris, was also of the Grayscale College. Whether Alan realized it or not, that horrible interaction with Sorin had left him with an unconscious prejudice against that college and anyone related to it.

Rell: “So, are you Joe?” he asked, directed toward Dan.

Dan: “Um, no. I’m Dan. Joe was busy and couldn’t come.”

Rell: “Huh? But the leader of each investigation unit was supposed to be here,” he said, confused.

Dan: “Ah, um. He will come for any future meeting. He was just in the middle of a major operation and couldn’t come today.”

Rell: “I see… but why just send you? What about the rest of your team? Or are they all participating in that operation you’re talking about?"

Dan: “Yes? Um, well. Um, A thing you should know about Joe’s unit, It's the smallest investigation unit in the police force.”

Rell: “How small are we talking? Is it slightly less than the usual 12 that work in a unit?”

Dan: “Including me, we only have three members.”

Rell: “What?” he said, sounding unimpressed.

Everyone from the enforcer side was surprised.

All the investigation units from the police force had a minimum of 12 people who worked in each crew. But, it seemed Joe’s group was the exception. This unit only had a quarter of the usual amount of staff.

Rell rubbed his temples, feeling the stress building inside him as he removed his glasses.

Rell: “This…explains so much,” he mumbled.

Jafar: “What does this explain?” he asked, hearing what Rell said.

Rell: “It explains why you two were the only ones assigned to this unit, as well as the suspects we've been assigned to look into. They are not expecting anything from this group," he said with a sigh. "Why me? How did I get assigned here?”

No one else in the group said anything to what Rell said, everyone felt too awkward to do so. Based on what Alan just heard, he had an idea of what was going on. This unit was the throwaway group.

It made sense when Alan thought about it like this. There were only three people in Joe’s unit and no one else besides Alan, Jafar, and Rell were assigned to this group to make up for the lack of manpower. How would they expect this group to work with so few people, unless their assignment was inconsequential to the overall investigation.

This didn’t sit well with Alan. He thought that working with the enforcers on this operation would present him with opportunities to rack up accomplishments to help his pursuit of becoming an archmage. But, if the expectation of this group was so low like Rell was suggesting, acquiring merit didn’t seem likely.

Rell let out another sigh.

Rell: “I still intend to do my job well. Listen up as I explain things. Joe’s unit has been assigned five different individuals connected to the Sorin investigation to look into. They have all been ranked as low priority and low danger level.”

Dan: “Um, under what basis are we investigating these people, and how connected to Sorin are they? And could you explain how you’re categorizing these people?” he said, finally sounding like a real detective for the first time since Alan met him.

Rell: “In notes acquired from Sorin lab, it mentions buying materials from these individuals for his soul-binding ritual. However, the materials he bought were not illegal themselves and the people who were selling to Sorin were all legitimate vendors. That’s why they are considered low priority. As it has been determined these people likely have no significant connection to Sorin and his crimes. And, it’s considered low danger because none of the five people are mages. Does that answer your question?”

Dan: “I believe so,” he said as he pulled out a small notebook and wrote something down.

Rell: “You don’t need to write any of this down. This folder here has all the information I mentioned,” he said as he handed it to Dan.

Dan: “Oh, thanks,” he said as he received the documents.

Rell: “I expect you to deliver this to your leader. Speaking of your leader. When will this operation you said he’s doing be done? So that we can begin the Jixi investigation.”

Dan: “Um, I'm sure he’ll be done by tomorrow…Hopefully.”

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

On the east side of Graheel, Joe was talking to an average-looking man who was just casually walking around Eld Street.

Man: “I don’t know anything!” he yelled.

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Joe: “Sir, please. I just want to know—” he said, before being interrupted by the man he was speaking to.

Man: “I don’t know anything!!!” he yelled once more before running away from Joe.

The man sprinted around a corner beyond where Joe could see him.

The officer felt baffled about what just happened. This was the seventh person that did that to him, where they screamed they didn’t know anything and ran off.

Joe had been asking around the neighborhood about the antique shop Cory had told him about.

During his questioning, he was getting a mix of people. Those who genuinely didn’t seem to know about any antique shop on Eld Street. And then, the people who clearly knew something, but were too scared to say anything. The people who seemed to know something would immediately flee from Joe once he mentioned an antique shop.

Under normal circumstances, Joe might have tried to use his authority as a cop to get information out of these people, but he couldn’t do that here. This was the east end and he was extremely close to the Red-light District, where the Nighthounds are based. Announcing he was a cop here would be dangerous if not outright suicide. He already knew he was pushing it as it is, and assumed that someone would be reporting him asking about an antique shop on Eld Street to the Nighthounds, due to being so close to the Red-light District.

That’s why he needed to find this guy today. It would become too dangerous for him to come back later to look. The senior detective was originally betting on finding this keeper of secrets before his activities were reported to the Nighthounds. The problem was, he couldn’t find this store Cory mentioned.

In truth, Joe wouldn’t have even bothered asking around if could help it. He would have just gone to this store and talked to that mysterious guy. But, where Cory said to look for this store, it wasn't there. They had managed to find an alchemy shop and bakery they were told, but there was no antique shop between them. Joe and Mike then looked up and down the Street for another bakery or alchemy store, but couldn’t find anything else. They were then forced to split up and ask the locals.

That is when both officers noticed the strange behavior of some of the people they talked with. There was clearly something going on, but no one wanted to tell them anything. So Joe couldn’t get completely mad at Cory for the information, as there was something to it. But, he was running out of time.

He and Mike had already spent two hours asking around to no result. Every hour they spent here increased the chance that they might run into someone from the Nighthounds. Joe knew he had to avoid that at all costs.

Joe took a deep breath and then began walking down Eld Street. He was heading toward the meeting point both detectives were supposed to meet at. He was hoping Mike was fairing better than him.

As he walked down the busy street he looked around. It was vibrant and active with life. Regular people walk in and out of stores just casually living their lives. Many of the establishments looked to be refurbished and almost presented as a high-end store, but were not. They sold regular goods and the clientele looked varied. The few high-end stores Joe knew of, wouldn’t even let non-mages shop at. Something that clearly wasn't going on here.

The street looked like a pleasant place to live in or nearby, similar to what Joe experienced on Vaal Street.

“I still can’t get over how much the Nighthounds changed the east end. I hate to admit it, but if they were not a crime syndicate, they would probably be the best thing to happen to this city in a long time.” Joe silently thought to himself as he walked along.

Almost nowhere in the east end of the city hasn't been touched by the Nighthonds and their “investments''. The money that the gang made from the Red-light District and their other illicit activities flowed back into the east end in a profound way. The Nighthounds had become a major economic driver for the people living here.

They used their vast amount of money to buy everything on the east end. That organization also didn’t just sit on all the land it brought up, but redeveloped it and made a place you wanted to live in.

That is why places like Eld Street and Vaal Street were so nice.

What was also astonishing, was that the Nighthounds didn’t charge an exorbitant amount to rent out any of their redeveloped buildings. It was almost like they ran the entire thing like a charity. But, Joe knew better. Owning so much of the east gave the Nighthounds almost absolute control of that part of the city. Then they also end up captivating the people by fixing everything and making it cheap to live in, entrenching the Nighthounds into everyday people's lives in a way that can’t be easily separated.

“It's all ingenious. At the rate the Nighthounds are growing their power and buying up everything, I’m not sure that special police unit will not be able to do anything about them soon.” Joe thought to himself.

The senior investigator kept walking along until he stopped in front of an alchemy shop, The Bubbling Beaker. Shelves full of various chemicals litter the entire display of the front window, as well as more bottles of things laid about on tables outside. There was no one around to watch and make sure nothing would be stolen, the owner of that store was clearly unworried that something like that would happen around here.

Joe looked intensely at the store then turned his head slightly to look at the bakery next door. The bakery was called Lindsey's Bakery. The display window in the front of the store held shelves with rows of baked goods for sale. People could be seen exiting the store with brown bags full of baked goods.

“It just doesn't make sense.”

Cory had told Joe that this antique shop was somewhere right where he was standing. This was the only place on this street that had those two exact establishments he was told about. But, there was no antique store to be seen anywhere when they got here. The rest of the street was mostly bars, restaurants, and clothing stores. This should have been the place Joe was told about.

While thinking about the accuracy of the information he got, he stared intently back at the alchemy store.

When Joe and Mike got here and couldn’t find the store they were told about, the senior investigator headed inside the Bubbling Beaker to ask for information. The owner of that store was a little strange. He was a little chubby around his midsection and his left eye seemed to be a little twitchy. However, the thing that made that man stand out the most was his response to Joe’s questioning.

The man in the alchemy store clearly knew something when Joe asked about an antique store. Unlike many of the other people who would flee and get scared when he asked, this person's response was different. That man was calm and simply said: “ You’re clearly not meant to find it. If you can’t easily find that store, then you shouldn’t bother looking for it. It won’t go well for you otherwise.” The alchemy store owner wouldn’t elaborate further on what he meant by that.

Joe was considering if he should go back into that store and push the strange man for more information. But, he needed to meet up with Mike before he could decide if he would do that.

The detective turned his head toward some nearby benches. Only a few dozen feet away from the Joe was. This was where he was supposed to meet up with Mike.

Sitting on the bench was Mike staring intensely at both the bakery and the alchemy store.

Joe walked over to his partner and took a seat right beside him before letting out a long tired sigh.

Joe: “No luck on my end. What about you?” he said while leaning back into the bench.

Mike: “Nothing. The people I talked to got scared and clammed up as soon as I mentioned an antique store.” he said while leaning forward and resting his head on his hands.

Joe: “Same for me. This isn't going well.”

Mike: “Do you think the information Cory gave you was bad?”

Joe: “Maybe? But, at the same time, I'm unsure. If there was nothing to the information he gave us, then people around here wouldn’t act the way they did when we asked about an antique store.”

Mike: “What do you think is going on with that?”

Joe: “Maybe, they're hiding this person from us.”

Mike: “Threatened into silence, huh.”

With how scared everyone acted when they asked about the antique shop, Mike could only imagine that something like the threat of violence was involved.

Joe: “Would seem likely. This information is really hard to come by. Scaring people into not talking about it would be a good way to keep knowledge about this guy from spreading.”

Mike: “But, the info we got talked about an antique store. Even if you can keep people from talking about this guy, how do you hide an entire store?"

Joe: “Hmm, maybe we’re going about this wrong. Maybe, this store is actually somewhere hidden in a back alley near a bakery and alchemy store, out of sight."

Mike: “But, that’s not what Cory said.”

Joe: “I know. But, I don't know how else to proceed from here. The store we were told about isn't here, and there is nowhere else on the street that matches what we were told. I have to assume that there were details to the information that wasn't good.”

Mike: “If you say so. But, that means we’ll have to search the back streets and I didn't want to do that. We’re more likely to get jumped by Nighthounds if we wander around there."

Joe: “I know," he sighed. "If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have checked those back streets first. Since we’ve already spent so much time around and were questioning people, we're very likely to attract Nighthounds attention now.”

Mike: “Should we come back later then?”

Joe: “I don’t know. It could be harder for us to come back here later.”

Both officers just groaned and sat there in thought. It was starting to look like a dead end to Joe. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to push this any further than they already had. The more Joe thought about it, the more he was ready to call it quits and leave the east end.

As he was about ready to tell Mike they were going to bail, Mike spoke up.

Mike: “Hey. Do you see something over there?” he said while pointing in front of him.

Joe looked towards where Mike was pointing. He was pointing toward the bakery and alchemy store he was just standing in front of a little while ago. Joe looked intensely but didn’t notice anything in particular.

Joe: “Um, no. Do you see something?”

Mike: “Just…look at that space between those two stores.”

Joe did what Mike said. He continued to look but still didn’t notice anything. The two stores were right beside each other and seemed to be separated by a single narrow wall. It wasn't anything particular, as a lot of the buildings around here were tightly packed together.

As Joe continued to stare, he rubbed his eyes. He felt like he was going cross-eyed from staring at the small space between the shops. When he looked back, he started to notice some more oddities. It was blurry in some spots, but if he angled his head right, it would immediately clear up. There were also some tiny architectural details that he started to notice that defied logic. Some of the designs of the building folded and clipped through itself. It would also bend a move relative to what angle he looked at it.

Joe: “Huh?”

The strangeness he was starting to see was very small and easy to miss, but once he noticed, Joe couldn’t look away or help seeing it.

Mike: “Yeah. Are seeing it too. There is something—WHAT!?!” he yelped out in surprise.

Joe: “What? W-what do you see?”

Mike didn't answer Joe. He instead started to move his head around from side to side.

Joe: “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Mike: “Just move your head around. Maybe to the left and you’ll see it.”

Joe did as Mike suggested. As the senior investigator moved his head around, the appearance of the space between the bakery and the alchemy store started to shift and warp. Suddenly, like a lenticular image, everything lined up to reveal a store neither officer had seen before. Once the officers looked at it from the right angle, it was like this new store pushed the bakery and alchemy shop to the side and expanded the space between them. It seemed like an illusion based on perspective, but at the same time felt more than just that.

Joe: “What the fuck?!?”

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