RE: Deception is Not Always Reality

[Lovetheangelshadow]

Chapter 1: The Visitor from ShadowMerle Ambrose could not sleep. He sat there at his desk while the singular candlelit orb above was slowly waving down to its last few strands of wick and wax. He had no reason to be up this late. There were no papers to grade, no flare ups of magical discord, and no pending matters with the school itself. Many of the students had long gone home for the Yuletide festivities with their families home and abroad. And yet he could not shake the feeling of unease and pending dread. The year had not been one of happiness. The Life teacher, Sylvia Drake, had fought valiantly against the illness that plagued her; though ultimately lost. Her husband, Malistaire had spun into a spiral of grief. He taught his school as the same, but even the laxest of students noticed the change. Then there was the massive fire on Cyclops Lane that had ravaged several blocks before it could be contained and stopped. It was only by a miracle so few lives were taken, but it would take time even with magic to repair the damage. It was never determined how the fire started and most just assumed it was a wayward arrow from the fire elves that had gotten out of hand-though the fey would never admit to such an error.

At last, he shoved himself away from his desk and grasped the old staff that rested on the corner. Perhaps a bit of night air would soothe his worries and take his mind off things. Outside was very quiet, hardly compared to the usual hustle and bustle of so many student wizards showing off their spells or trying to barter from others the latest and greatest item from the Crown Shoppe down the road. The ground was covered in a thin film of powder snow and more was flittering about in the night air. Merle often forgot how beautiful the outside could be-him always being holed up in his office these days. He heard a similar crunch of ice coming from the Olde Town gateway. Perhaps it was old instincts but he twisted his gnarled hands around the hilt of the staff and pointed it in the direction of the gate.
“Easy there, Ambrose. You might shoot someone.”
Malistaire’s pallid face almost blended in perfectly with the snow and he might have not even been noticeable save for the long black robes. He held in hand the old Drake family staff that was illuminated just enough to give the gaunt necromancer a faint glow. Merle sighed with relief and slowly lowered his staff back to walking position.

“My apologies old friend. I fear I have been a bit more on edge than I have been in a long time. But what has brought you out here?” Malistaire looked worse than before. His eyes were red and a bit swollen and his cheeks sallow. Though a teacher in the magics of Death, there had always been a spark of life that surrounded him. A spark, Ambrose feared, had faded to near nothingness.
“There are no rules against walking the streets at night. But it is always night in the Dark Cave, so it makes no difference to me.” There was a bitterness in Malistiare’s tone Ambrose did not like. However, he had no time to ponder when both of them heard a low groan coming from the school. It grew in volume followed by the vigorous rustling of leaves. The air itself began to freeze and the two wizards could feel the frost spreading on their robes. They ran into the school’s gateway.

Bartleby, in the center of the school, was groaning in agony. His roots curled up and the stone that had long clung to them began to split and shatter into the void below.
“Bartleby! Bartleby, what is wrong?!” Malistaire yelled out. The great tree groaned even louder as his bark began to pulse. A blackish purple stain began to form on the side facing the ice school and grew outwards as tendrils snaked out and griped the sides.
“Quick! Blast them off! Be careful not to hit Bartleby!” Ambrose ordered. The two used low magic bursts from their wands trying to repel back the spreading morass. The tendrils recoiled at first but grew in strength as a hand burst from the center of the enlarging cyst. Something was pulling its way out from the shadow and snarling with agony as it did so. At last, the figure burst free and collapsed in a gasping heap on the floor. Brackish ooze dripped from its form as the creature struggled to stand back up.

“You…did not…make it…easy…Ambrose.” The figure gargled. Merle shot a flame at the lanterns above to illuminate their visitor. When he could see what had come to Wizard City, he shot a stronger pulse of magic at the thing, sending it crashing hard into the Ice Battle Tower.
“You have a lot of nerve coming here! We removed you once before and we will do it again!” Merle barked threateningly. Malistaire took a few steps back. He had never seen Merle this angry before even against Morganthe. He, himself could barely make out the visitor. A strange bipedal fellow covered in strange purple black scales and feathers was all he could make out for the moment. The creature seemed more annoyed that he had been shot at. The visitor floated up from the bushes. Its limp posture and heavy gasps made it clear it was quite weak.
“You are…lucky I am…this way. Otherwise, you…would have never…made that shot”, the visitor wheezed before collapsing to the ground.
“The Council of Light repelled you once. It will do it again!” Just then the great tree’s groans broke their attention. Leaves were falling from his branches at a rapid pace.
“Yes, it was a bit cruel of me. Forgive me, uncle.” The beast placed his hand onto the blackened mass he had originally emerged from. With a loud sharp intake, he absorbed the dark stain into his very flesh before exhaling with a satisfied euphoric sigh. Bartleby moaned in relief.

“I know you did not intend such an outcome. But next time, just use the door. What brings you here nephew? How is your brother? I haven’t seen you in so long…”
Merle cleared his throat.
“Bartleby, with all due respect, I fear that his presence here is dangerous. There is a lot of magic in this world that his being here could…”
“Now now, even the Shadow has a place in the Spiral. Come dear nephew, you look so worn. What troubles you?” Malistire pulled Merle aside.
“Ambrose, what is going on here? Who is that…thing? What is it? And what do you mean, him being here is dangerous?” Merle furrowed his brow and continued to twist his staff uneasily.
“Malistaire, I fear there are some things even I cannot share, but I will tell you what I am able to. Not one word is to be said about this.”
“Merle Ambrose, Malistaire Drake…” Bartleby boomed.
“I CAN hear you. And I want you to hear my nephew’s story.”

[Lovetheangelshadow]

Chapter 2: Gabriel Duskeyes

“Well about time this place started looking halfway decent”, Gabriel groaned as he let his gangly body fall on one of the many beds he had in the room. His singular good eye scanned the room from between the flayed locks of black hair that framed his dark pointed face. He rubbed his snouty nose with a gloved hand and ethereally hoisted himself back up to his feet. It had not been an easy matter getting himself an honest looking home for himself. He had finally acquired legally and above board, the abandoned estate in Marleybone that he had been squatting in. It had been two years since his brief visit in Wizard City and much had come to pass in those times. Events that he took full advantage of.

First, the nation of Marleybone had been besieged by a crime wave as Cats, Rats, and unsavory leaning Dogs began to run amuck from penny anny larceny to scratching assaults. The ladies of the town pooled a sizeable amount of gold to award those who would help quell the chaos. Some wizard, Gabriel did not bother to know their name, had dealt with most of the more notable rabble leaving Gabriel to root out the more subtle rats. Some rodents are far smarter than they appear. Then just as they thought they were clear with the rex of crime behind bars, the Dogs were dragged into a war with strange beings known as Clockworks. Gabriel vaguely knew of them though he had only been an observer of the Polarian War. He would have kept out of this one, but he needed the coin. One could only possess so much dignity for so long sleeping in the taverns and house inns before thinking enough was enough.
Gabriel now looked at himself in the mirror. As arrogant and foolish a nation Marleybone was, he would not deny they had impeccable tastes in clothing. He had custom tailored his attire to fit his long-limbed frame. It was still a bit tight in the chest and the sleeves formed about his muscular frame a bit more than he would have liked. One eye was concealed by an eyepatch and his collar was framed high to conceal the few bits of purplish black scales that trailed along his neck. This body was not a perfect disguise. Polymorph spells were a fickle magic and especially those you wanted to last long term.
Now that he had a home, he would have to upkeep it to keep the Dogs from taxing him out of it. Gabriel stuffed the bundle of flyers into a satchel and pulled his overcoat above his pointed shoulders. As he walked to the World Door of his home, he fondled the key ring between the four fingers of his right hand. The key ring had a total of thirteen keys; each emblazoned with a different world on the teeth. They were barken in texture and a motley color of greens and browns. Gabriel cackled a bit against his breath. As if that old wizard honestly thought he could have kept him locked in one place forever.
A month had passed. Not everyone quite understood what a detective was. The bears of Grizzleheim thought it meant searching out of groups of Grendels or finding lost cubs in the woods. At least they paid well in food and occasionally furniture. Gabriel was perplexed when the Kroks came to his door-last he checked they had been in hibernation. Marleybonians really needed to not be so biased in their exploits of exploration. Again, Kroks misunderstood and had him sitting judge in disputes between the Krok families. Empyrea just laughed him out and Karamelle thought he was hired labor. Gabriel avoided Avalon and Wizard City. Too much of a hassle. He had slightly better luck in Polaris…until he was almost thrown in the Bastille for “posting propaganda”.

Fish were good, but there was only so much you could munch on before you got sick of them. Gabriel was down to his last few coppers. If he did not get a solid client soon, it would be back to mopping floors and sweeping up teeth in the bars of Skull Island. Perhaps a bit of sweets would improve his mood? Gabriel opened up the icebox and all he had was a few slices of cake and half a jug of water left. No sooner had he shoved a piece of cake in his mouth that the doorbell rang with thunderous rancor that he nearly choked on the dessert. With strawberry, cream, and white cake crumbs dribbling down the sides of his mouth he muffled a, “Juff gah winute” before forcing it down in one hard gulp. With cake now hard stuck in his esophagus, Gabriel opened the door to face a large figure in the door. Night had fallen and the porch was only vaguely illuminated by a massive hooded figure with what appeared to be multiple glowing eyes. Gabriel’s heart froze and he felt some of the cake rise up in his throat. The figure grumbled, “Are you going to let me in or not?” Gabriel exhaled all the air out of his lungs. It has not his voice. The human scuttled back to get out of the doorway and let his visitor inside.
The visitor was under a large royal blue and white robe. A symbol of a Mirage palace was woven intricately on the back. The robes fitted over his frame very awkwardly as clearly, they were not designed for whatever being was under there. A grumble from his visitor’s stomach broke the awkward silence.

“Do, perchance, have anything of decency to eat? I fear I have been neglecting my nutrition.” Gabriel did not hide his annoyance. That cake was supposed to last for another day. Then again, he thought he heard the nave clangle of gold coin when the visitor had to step upwards into the foyer so maybe they both could not starve. The detective grudgingly gave him a slice of the leftover cake and watched with intensity as the visitor had grasped it with one sleeved covered hand and shoved it in his mouth. The fabric had brushed back for a brief moment-showing crimson scales along their arm. The guest finished with a satisfied exhale and a stench of strawberry and sulfur accosted Gabriel’s nose. He should have been insulted by this point-but was now intrigued. Now what would a creature of his ilk be doing in a place like this with adornments like that?
Gabriel interlaced his long fingers together and leaned in on the front desk.
“So, what has brought you to me, exactly?” he questioned seriously. The visitor paused and started twirling the fork between his fingertips. He swayed back and forth on the chair as if contemplating if he really wanted to go through with this. Finally, he sighed and said, “I need you to find someone. A human girl to be more specific. She stole something of mine and I want it back discreetly.” Gabriel suddenly stood up and yanked the front door open.
“Good day to you sir”, he said playfully.

“You…is this how you treat your clients?” the guest roared; smoke and bits of flame now coming from the shadows of his hood.
“I don’t like dealing with more than one mystery at a time. I don’t appreciate clients who lie.” Gabriel flicked his two fingers and a small spark of dark colored magic erupted from them and snagged on the guest’s hood. The cover had been pulled back revealing the frilled face of a Draconian. The multiple “eyes” Gabriel had seen under the porch light had actually been from the headwrap on the beast’s head.
“First off Draconians prefer to settle their own personal scores lest they be laughed at by their peers. Asking for help in such scores is considered weakness.
Second, you have not been in Dragonspyre…not for quite some time.”
“You dare accuse…”

“There is sand between the scales of your feet and tail. Now there are about three possible locations where you would accumulate that much sand.” Gabriel ducked at the dragon’s feet and flicked up a grain from the floor.
“Smooth to the touch so that leaves out Skull Island. The pallid in color and the particular sun burns around your neck suggest Krokotopia or Mirage. The robes clinch the deal it is Mirage. As for time, even the inner circle of Dragonspyre does not emit the kind of harsh abrasive tones your scales have become. There is little light on the fallen dragon kingdom. How close am I?” The Draconian slumped back into his chair and buried his face in his hands.
“Please…I beg you, don’t tell anyone. I did not completely lie. I am looking for a human girl! And if she isn’t found soon…” The Draconian was shaking and hyperventalling. Sparks were coming from his mouth and a few embers began to ignite the carpet. Gabriel hastily shot a few icy blasts to take them out before running upstairs and shoving the last piece of cake in the beast’s hands. This creature was genuinely frightened. It took a lot to shake a Draconian.
He sat back down and eased his tone, “Tell me the truth this time and I will do everything I can to help with your name and species anonymous. That I can promise.” The Draconian wiped his nose and nodded slowly.
“My name is Erollthrex. I have lived in Mirage for 5 years now and am a self-employed historian of the Spiral. The person I want you to find is my expedition partner Pearl Black.” Gabriel narrowed his eyebrows. The name rang a faint bell. Erollthrex seemed to be aware of his confusion and responded with,
“She uncovered the Zigzag tombs in Krokotopia a couple years back.”
“Ah. And what was she doing now?”

“She…we…found old log books in a Monquistan temple; detailing further tombs in the ruins of Catstantinople far from current Instanboa. We had just found one! A small tomb of a minor Quat prince, but just this success alone would…” Erollthrex began to chatter on; his voice rising in excitement. There was true joy in his tones, Gabriel noted, and yet there seemed to be something else.
“It is all exciting I am sure, but that does that have to do with your current situation with Miss Black now?” The Draconian realized he had been rambling and sunk into the settee.
“Pearl disappeared a week ago. At first, I thought she was dealing with all the Marleybonian paperwork, but she would have sent letters or notes…anything!”
“You don’t think she ran off?”
“All her belongings are still in our camp; including the documentation for the Marleybone Royal Science Committee. And especially not now when she was…” Erollthrex stopped himself abruptly. He stared into space for a moment as if he was either trying to remember something or forget it.
“We’re almost broke, mister Duskeyes. We need this grant to continue.” He was tugging hard on the sleeves of his cloak. He wasn’t telling the whole story. Okay, Gabriel, you’re going to have to tread this sneakily.

“Was there something that might have worried her?”
“At first I thought she was just nervous about the presentation. But the one night, she came back to camp angry. She was so angry she nearly smashed one of our shipping crates with magic.”
“What made her so mad?”
“Pearl wouldn’t tell me. But then she seemed to calm down when she got strange letters. There was no sender’s address save for a wax seal bearing a pair of dragons. She never divulged those contents and I only know of them because one hadn’t burned all the way when I was cleaning the incinerator. The night before she disappeared, we feasted like royalty for the first time in years. That is…all I know.” Erollthrex winced in his chair and pressed the palms of his hands against his head before he started shaking again.

“Please, I don’t have much gold now, but I will scrimp every piece to pay you! I beg you to find her! Please!” Gabriel’s hands grasped his upper arms. So, someone found a tomb that could be worth a lot of gold to the discoverer and one of the two partners just disappears. This could be quite amusing.
“All right. I will see what I can do. Do you know of any friends or relatives she might have gone to?”
“Pearl’s parents died a long time ago and she does not speak too well of her uncle. She had few friends as well. But…I believe she was in a biweekly correspondence with a teacher in Ravenwood. A Maple Amber? Marlin Apple?”
“Merle Ambrose?”

“Yes! That is it!” Gabriel bit his lip to hide his grimace. He would have preferred to avoid Wizard City for the time being-but then again-anything to rub in the old fool’s face was a bonus.
“Then I will see what I can do. How do I contact you?” Erollthrex slid a key across the table.
“This leads directly to our camp. Please, if you find anything-tell me.” Gabriel ushered him out the door after reassuring him for the seventh time. Once the dragon was gone, Gabriel tucked the key into his pocket and grinned. He will find this girl, but let’s have a little fun with the old stuck-up wizard, shall we?

[Lovetheangelshadow]

Chapter 3: Dark BullThe evening sun had just begun to set by the time Gabriel had walked though the world door and into the interior or Bartleby. Gabriel had changed to a nicer set of threads for the occasion. A double-breasted waistcoat with dark colored slacks and a long black peat coat. The look was completed with a wide brimmed hat that shadowed a good deal of his face. The detective stepped foot onto the school pathway and waved a loud hello at Bartleby. The tree’s singular eye peered down on him.

“Oh, hello there. I have not seen you before…or have I?” Gabriel turned to see Bartleby’s left eye was gone. So, the rumors really had been true. He was going to have to have a word with that stupid old wizard. There were still a few students straggling around. One or two noticed him step onto the cobblestone paths with heavy snapping crunches under his boots. A cavalier dressed man of considerable height was hard to ignore. Gabriel had hardly made his way to the tunnel exit when he heard an odd sound pierce the still air. It was a shriek followed by grunting bellows and snorts. The loose gravel began to dance at Gabriel’s boots in increasing beats as the nice grew louder in his direction. The man just barely stepped back when the tunnel exit had burst apart in a swirl of dust and smoke. As Gabriel had lowered his arm, he had used to shield himself, at his feet was a small boy. A small trickle of blood was gracing his blonde tresses from where a large piece of stone had struck him. A figure, even taller than he was, was now emerging from the shadows of the archway. He grabbed the child just as an axe burst through the darkened smoke and slashed from above. He did not exactly have time to see just what crashed through as he scooped up the boy in one arm and began running on all fours. The nearest school to him was the Storm School. With a deft leap he rolled his way towards the door where he nearly tore it off its hinges and unceremoniously tossed the child inside.
The pursuer had at last made itself known as the dust settled about its hooves. A massive minotaur now stood among the rubble of the archway. It’s flesh and fur were an ebony black color so deep that it almost made it a solid shadow. The only thing clearly untouched by the blackness was its yellow eyes that shone bright enough to give the creature a sickly golden haze. Roaring a terrible annoyance at losing sight of its prey, the beast smashed its heavy cloven feet hard on the ground and set debris scattering around it. Gabriel skirted around as stone and sand struck against his shoulders and face. He had to get close enough to the monster to pull it into a Duel Circle and keep it pinned.

This beast swung its heavy axe wide towards the dark detective. As Gabriel bounced back just barely as the axe graced a few buttons on his waistcoat. He had little time to voice his annoyance when a heavy branch thudded hard against his chest and he crashed into the Life School’s building. Gabriel’s body peeled off the wall with a sickening thump as he fell forward onto the branch that had struck him.
“Oh dearie me sweetie! That looked awful”, Blossom cooed. The detective inhaled and felt his chest pop like an expanding balloon as he grasped at the bark of the Life Tree to steady himself back up. This beast was smart-far too smart for someone of their general species. The creature was almost at the Storm School doorway. Students who had chosen to stay behind had flung their own spells at the beast trying to drive it off. The duels had slowed it down, if only barely, as it was about go gather the pips needed to knock each student unconscious with a single blow from the axe it was holding so tightly on to. Gabriel snarled in annoyance. He did not have time to deal with this nonsense. With barely a flash of black flame, Gabriel was directly behind the minotaur and announced the duel.

At the ground below them a circle of light formed on the street, Shimmering tendrils of sparking light latched onto both Gabriel’s and the minotaur’s feet and pulled the pair onto the opposite ends of the circle. Small gold and white wisps began to form in the air around them though they were only visible to the pair. A triangle formed in the center and turned its pointed at Gabriel first. He grinned and flicked a yellowish beige card in front of his face A small bolt lighting erupted from the circle where the minotaur stood and it was suddenly frozen in place. The beast struggled against the stun enchantment and snarled its anger. Gabriel then stared at the beast and did nothing on his free turn. On the minotaur’s turn free from the stun is when Gabriel saw what he needed to know. The pips surrounding them were suddenly drawn to the blade of the weapon like a gobbler vacuuming any food. Eight pips and two Shadow Pips had burst around the circle at the cloven feet of the monster. With a yell, a giant snake erupted from the center of the duel circle where it wrapped its shadow dripping coils and gave Gabriel a hard squeeze. The serpent did not vanish after it had struck either. Instead, it continued to hold the man tight in its coils. The duel circle began to flicker on the ground-where it should have just stayed until the duel ended in either a yield, knockout, or death. This minotaur was somehow able to break away from the rules. The pointer was now facing Gabriel again. He had one good strike before he suffocated. He struggled his great muscles until he wrenched one arm loose. A large bolt of darkness erupted from his four fingered palm and struck both the hand and face of the axe. The blast had knocked the weapon from the beast’s hand and it collided into the ground near Kelvin. The snake collapsed into pixie dust almost immediately; letting the detective fall onto his face. The minotaur yelped in terror and fled the circle to try and grab its weapon. As it had left, Gabriel noted that the beast was striking with each step until it was only just barely taller than Gabriel himself.

“Oh no you don’t!” Gabriel hurled himself against the monster and forced it to the ground. The beast struggled as it continued to shrink further as its once powerful muscles began to atrophy and the horns shortened to mere stubs. Gabriel was soon holding a minotaur runt under his knee.
“You are a really bad little minotaur, aren’t you? Why didn’t you pick on someone your own size?” The minotaur snarled and yelled in its own language and Gabriel gave a good hard tug on the runt’s arm behind his back.
“Now now now, none of that. I’ll make this simple. Who sent you and why? Answer that and I won’t break every one of your ribs one at a time.”
“I’d sooner choke on your bones, human!” the minotaur hissed. Gabriel rolled his eyes. Must they always do it the hard way? The human leaned down and whispered something into the sow’s ear. Suddenly the runt squirmed and mooed in pain.

“You feel it don’t you? You felt the boons of Shadow…now let us see how well you handle the other side. Bit by bit it’ll scratch and eat away at your soul until there is nothing left but a shambling husk. How long will you last? An hour? A few minutes? A few seconds?”
“I…I don’t know! The man wore a hood the whole time. He said he would make me strong! Unstoppable. He gave me the axe. I don’t know why I went after the kid. I just felt I had to! Arrrghh! Make it stop! STOP IT PLEASE!” So, the runt had just been a convenient weapon. Gabriel snapped his fingers and the beast slumped to the ground-unconscious but alive. By now the city guards had some in. Took them long enough, Gabriel chuffed to himself as he let them take away the creature. Then Gabriel saw the glimpses of a man in yellow robes looking at Gabriel with a less than pleased expression.
“So…you’re here”, Cyrus frowned.
“Pure business”, Gabriel grinned. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an old wizard have discourse with.”

[Lovetheangelshadow]

Chapter 4: PaulGabriel had the axe in his hands. The handle was hefty enough in his palm that his fingers almost didn’t even wrap completely around it. It took some effort to cleave it from where it had wedged itself between the gravel lines. The axe was of brackish color with dark purple gems inlaid heavily inside the handle. Upon touch he could feel the thing practically dripping with Shadow Magic. He had to give credit to whoever crafted this weapon. For understandable, though cowardly reasons, such magics were heavily regulated and whomever had created this seemed to have a firm grasp on it-at least far more so than that foolish witch. Now what was her name again?
He felt a tug on his coat-a lard enough tug that a few of the old seams ripped under his grip. There was a boy behind him. Quite small and Gabriel judged him to be somewhere between 6 or seven years old. The creature was a rather pitiful sight to look at, Gabriel thought. His pointed face was framed by shaggy blonde hair and wide green eyes hidden behind large round glasses. His clothes were pretty well ragged and scratched though he was not entirely sure if all of it was from the minotaur.
“Are you a dueling professor like Diego?” the boy asked in a wispy squeak-but there was a sincere tone in the question. Suddenly Moolina Wu scooped up the child and cupped him between her great big hooves.
“Now now Paul, don’t be so rude.” She then looked up at Gabriel. “My apologies, he asks a lot of questions Mister…I’m afraid I am not as familiar with your face.”
“Gabriel Duskeyes”, the dark detective said simply. “And no, I am not a professor. That old wizard boss of yours still huddling about in his keep?” The remark made Wu frown and she huffed off the boy in tow. Gabriel just shrugged.
With the axe over his shoulder, Gabriel did not even hesitate to knock politely and just waltzed inside. The room looked just as the same as it had two years ago. The bright crystal globe in the center through seemed a bit duller than he recalled and the map of the Spiral appeared to shudder as it slowly spun in place about the center.

“So…you came back”, Ambrose spat behind him.
“Relax, old man. I didn’t use my dear uncle as the anchor point this time. I had a key.” Gabriel spun his key ring in Ambrose’s face.
“How did you…”
“Nope, not telling. But did you really think you could keep me out from wherever I wish? If I so desired, I could even go to Empyrea without much effort. But I have no reason to go either. Now then, I am here purely on a professional business and…”
“And was destroying the school plaza part of your business?” Merle’s staff crackled with magic matching the stormy expression on its master’s face. Some of the sparks danced about Gabriel’s broad shoulders and he just smiled.
“You had the advantage of me last time, old man. Do you think your little fireworks show scares me? Besides, credit to the plaza was the minotaur. If I had wanted to destroy something-you would not have even been aware until it was too late.” Gabriel snapped his fingers causing the spurs to suddenly slap together into one and dissipate in a sparkling display. Ambrose grumbled as he wrung his hands to keep him upright. He sighed in resentment and then resumed an orderly state.

“Very well. What brings you back here to this city?”
“I am following the trail of one of your former students. A Miss Pearl Black if you recall.” Merle hesitated in the response.
“Erollthrex sent you didn’t he?”
“You know I cannot give the name of my client.”
“Pearl Black. Poor child’s life has not been easy. She was one of Cyrus’ brightest pupils. Pearly would have graduated with the highest marks in her class if her illness hadn’t taken a worse turn.”
“Illness?”

“It’s an old Miragian Raspatory Syndrome that used to be more common among the Quats, but has shown in other species who are born or long exposed to Mirage. It cut her studies in Conjuring short-but she turned her mind to archeology and excelled in the Marleybone schools of study. But this Mirage expedition is the first field mission she’s ever been on.” Gabriel hummed as he leaved on the axe’s handle on the floor. He had to give the gal credit. MRS was not an easy disease to live through. He had seen enough Quats and Kamels fall to it.
“Can you think of why she’d just disappear? My client informed me she was to plead for a grant from the Marleybone Science Committee.”

“That I do not know. The last letter I got was her telling me that she and her partner were coming to Wizard City for her 30th birthday and her excitement about it. That was four weeks ago I believe.” Merle shuffled over to his desk and ran a gnarled hand over the drawers. He seemed to be searching for something among the papers.
“By the way, care to tell me about your methods of interrogation? Shadow Miasma, wasn’t it?” Gabriel rolled his eyes. Who was this wizard to tell him what he should and shouldn’t do? He heard the sharp shove of the drawer scraping its wooden casing as Merle closed the drawer forcefully. He had several letters in his hands but he kept them just out of Gabriel’s hands.
“Against my better judgement, I have a favor to ask of you.” Oh, he was asking for favors now?
“You saw the boy in the plaza?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“The Paul kid? What about him?”
“I need you to watch him for a few days-while I make preparations to take him to a safer place.” Gabriel’s thick eyebrows raised to near level of his hair and then cackled-slamming his hand repeatedly on the table in virulent cacophony.
“Oh, that is rich”, Gabriel wheezed. “You don’t even trust me inside this city, but you want me to watch a kid?” Ambrose’s hand twisted back and forth on his staff. His lips pressed hard as he tried to decide his next move. Gamma hooted and fluttered to his perch just between them.

“The minotaur is not the first beast to try and harm the boy. Unfortunately, with everything happening there just is no time to really delve into why. The best thing we can do right now is taking him out of Wizard City.”
“And making it my problem? Sounds like an intriguing challenge”, Gabriel smirked as he plucked the letters from Ambrose’s hand. “Alright, let’s see who can solve this riddle first, old man.”