Finally things seemed as though the were coming to an end. The hooded figure had been taken in and the ex-knight was positive that Nilan would get him to speak. He was off to continue his training. He was gaining mastery over some spells but still had a ways to go with all the feats he wanted to accomplish.

On his way out of the town, an officer that worked with Nilan rushed to meet him. “Sorry to bother you again Kazimir but the inspector wanted you to know,” the young man said. He was the usual courier between the two and Kaz was familiar with the lad.

“Okay, what is it?” he asked nonchalantly.

“The hooded man appears to have committed suicide somehow,” the officer replied. A wide-eyes stare came across the mage’s face. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How was that even possible. He was in custody.

“Take me to the inspector,” Kaz replied once the shock wore off. He walked by the officer in a hurry, headed toward the inspectors place. The building was still in shambles but work was being down to restore it to its former glory. A slow process, but it hadn’t been but a few days since Kazimir’s last visit to the place.

He moved straight to Nilan’s office without a word to anyone else. The inspector already seemed to be waiting for him. He stood by the lopsided window. It was half open, letting in a small breeze and the sounds of yelling produce salesman.

WC 250
Minimum reduction for June event

“Nilan, what’s going on?” Kaz asked with urgency. Nilan turned around, his face solemn. Eyes were darkened from lack of sleep. He blinked repeatedly trying to stay awake. “Kazimir, I’m glad you made it. We’ve been slammed and I just can’t believe this,” he said, sitting down in his chair. Papers scattered across the desk.

“He’s gone, that’s all there is too it. We still don’t know how but I did get some info from him before he passed away,” the inspector added. Kazimir pulled out the chair on the other side of the desk and took a seat. Nilan shuffled some papers and slide them across to the wind mage.

Inside was a detailed report on the supposed whereabouts of the hooded man’s hideout. “That’s all we were able get but its a hell of a lot more than what we had before. I need you to go and investigate it.”

Kazimir stood from his seat and slide the papers back over. “I’m on it, don’t worry. One day this thing will end.” Even saying those words himself, he wasn’t sure how much he believed them. It seemed this was a never ending struggle. Always having more layers to be traversed.

He headed for the door when Nilan grabbed his arm, “Thanks...I mean it,” it was a sincere statement by the inspector. Something that was unspoken between them until now. “I’m just doing my…” Kaz stopped himself as he realized this wasn’t his job anymore and that wasn’t the reason he was doing it.

Kazimir left the office through the usually cruddy hallway. His mind focused on the task at hand to the exclusion of all others. His eyes didn’t wander to the same frivolous things around him. He wanted to get this done and finally put a stop to it. This situation had gone on unhinged for too long. Not to mention there were bigger things happening. The inquisition was on the move and the demons needed to be stopped. For him he felt like this was the last thing he needed to do before joining up with the other loose nit members of the group. He may not be a knight anymore but he just can’t leave a job undone unless he had to and this was a potential city wide threat.

As soon as he was outside, the wind mage dashed straight up, riding the wind to the top of the officers building. He looked out over Orchidia. A dismal site. Buildings destroyed by the ravaging demons that entered. A crazed plant burrowing through the ground, toppling even more buildings. The people have had no rest from plight. He clinched his teeth at the thought. At the idea that he was still not strong enough to put these things down. Not fast enough to see them done.

He closed his eyes to feel the wind but it didn’t have its usual calming presence. It was harsh and stung at his face. His eyes winced from something. Not the wind striking his face but something more fierce rushing along with it.
WC 500
total wc 750

Opening his eyes he could still feel its presence. Inescapable. He faced the direction of the outskirts, trying to push that impulse away, he dashed onward. His movements still as in step as ever until he made it to the last house. Before him was the line of trees that began the forest and beneath him were the houses that dotted the landscape. Most of which were rundown and in need of care. These not so much from the attacks as they were from years of neglect.

The hideout was not part of those homes though. He ran in closer to the woods. Weaving through the streets. It felt like all those years he spent running with his clan. Running in the wild and going on hunts. He grasped at dashed and jumped across rooftops, as he did before he was able to ride the wind, but combined it now with his air glides. Each step sending him with a gust, safely through buildings until he saw the small home.

It looked moist and dank from the outside. A small house with a mossy entrance. Most would have it go unnoticed if not for the direct information from Nilan. The entrance was barely visible. He placed a hand on the moss and shoved it to the side. Peeking in he only saw darkness at first. No vibrations rippled through the air as he extended his magic to find any. It was silent from sound and life. He snaked his head around the moss first and then the rest of his body entered.

Water splashed from his boot setting down, dampening the bottoms of his pants. The sheet of moss flopped back into place, concealing the already hard to find lair. Slowly he rose one foot to step it forward, lowering his body into to predatory crouch. His right hand touched the wall next to him for guidance. His fingers loosely rubbing across it as he inched forward, one foot after another. His heart beat against his chest. Memories of this same motion flooded his mind. The times he stalked his prey in the wild to bring food back to his clan. His fixed on a single objective. One of the few times his airy personality receded to something more primal. His eyes dilated in anticipation of the conflict down the way. His loose fingers stiffened as he drug them against the rock wall, more like an animal’s claw than a man’s hand.

A small light appeared through the darkness. It was rays from the sun shinning in through the patchwork roof. He stepped into the light. It poked through a series of small holes in the top of the house. Nestled in the center of the outskirts had been this small ramshackle house. Its wooden shutters hung loose. The door creaked from its simple existence grasping at the hinges. A small pair of makeshift steps led up to it. No glass were in the windows but it was still difficult to see inside from afar, as the light shined against his eyes. He shielded his eyes from the rays and moved forward, standing upright now. There was less caution in his stride.
WC 500
Total Wc 1250

The steps creaked under his weight. The rotten wood mushed every few steps. He pushed the door further open, it was too loose to even creak and nearly fell from its hinges. Looking inside it was in better condition than the outside eluded to. There was minimal water damage and the furniture, while old, was still intact. It wasn’t spacious. The walls felt close but it was cozy. Everything within a few steps of anything else. A couch was in the center with a desk in front of it. Papers were scattered about on it. A desk sat in the far side of the room. The cushion of the adjourning chair dipped inward, showing excessive use over the years.

Kazimir moved closer to the desk. As he passed by the table he scanned the documents and snatched up any that looked like sketches for something. On the desk, were more sketches with some scribbled notes on the sides. A strange array of trinkets accompanied it and Kazimir stuffed them all in his bag. Nilan may find some good use for those. He had a knack for squeezing information out of anything he got his hands on.

With a sigh he looked over the room again. No second hooded man and barely any evidence. Kaz was growing weary and began a thorough search of the house. He lifted couches and turned over tables. Checking over and under anything he could until he came to the last place. A bookshelf tucked away unassumingly in the background. “Alright, let’s take a look at this then,” he said as his hands held the edges of the large bookcase. It shifted easier than he expected. “Gotcha,” he muttered as he pressed his shoulder against it and heaved, revealing a doorway tucked discretely behind it. “So this is what its all about. Now we’re on to something,”

He eased his body behind the bookshelf and into the passageway. Kazimir stared down the path. It lead deeper underground. No torches lit the way. Only the dim light cast from the sun over head allowed any visibility and even that diminished quickly. He touched the wall next him. It was cold and damp, comprised of barely worked stone. As if the tunnel was crudely dug. He took a final look behind him, checking for anything or anyone else before venturing onward.

No wind stirred in the dark pit as he walked down the curving path. A few minutes sluggishly ticked by until he arrived at what he assumed to be the bottom of the passageway. There was a small archway, that lead into an equally small room. The same moss as outside hung down over it, creating a natural curtain. He yanked it down out of the way this time with a huff. The room appeared to have been built here. Constructed as part of the house, deep underground for reasons unknown. He wondered how long it had been here. How long has this plan been in the makings? He blew some final cobwebs out of the way and stood inside.

WC 500
Total WC 1750

The room was small with barely anything inside. It was almost like looking at smaller version of the ramshackle house above. Inside was a small table. Scattered upon it were small papers. Each of various things scribbled upon them. The workings of a mad man locked in a cave for too long. He grazed through the papers. They weren’t the only things to catch the eye of the ex knight. Hanging against the wall were numerous black cloaks. All of them had the same symbol embedded on them. One that made him feel uneasy. Like something bad was haunting this place and would lead to something dark and dangerous. The fact that there were robes was an ominous sign in and of itself. He ran his hand across them and grasped the cotton fabric of the robes. “So there were more of you. Many more,” he said looking over how many robes hung on the wall. This had to have been going on for sometime but just how deep does this hole go. There was no way this many people could operate out of such a small space. They had to be taking shifts.

It was likely they moved around between here and somewhere else. It had to be a temporary location and not the real hideout. If they were the ones behind the plants growth, then this was certainly only a minor cog in the greater machine.

He brought the robes down and jumbled as many of them together as he could, stuffing them into his pack. Nilan would need to see this. One of the biggest clues of the case so far. Turning his attention back to the table he shuffled through the papers once more. This time taking a more thorough check of them. If he was to wait for the man to return he could catch him off guard here. In the mean time he sat and read over the notes. Most of them devoid of any immediate importance. That is until he came to one entitled, ‘meeting.’ A name suggesting these were passed from only people within the circle and that they had the utmost faith in their discretion.

The note talked about a meeting to be held outside of the city. It seemed to be written by the leader of the group as it was a summons of some sort. Kaz sat in the only chair and read over it. He inched closer to the edge of his seat, leaning towards the letter the further down he read. It was recent. Very recent. His eyes skidded back and forth hastily taking in the information on it. “A few days,” he read as he finally reached the end of the letter. Most of it wasn’t pressing other than the date of a meeting in Era. “So this is not just here. They operate on a larger scale.” He repeated his thoughts to himself the more alarming they became. He hadn’t thought this group was going to be so wide spread as to involve multiple major cities.

WC 500
Total WC 2250

He tucked the letter into his pocket. That one in particular going somewhere secure. The others he shoved into his pack as well. Making sure they were as safe as he could. He would leave the deep investigation work to Nilan. That was more of his expertise. Kaz was just the man who jumped into danger for him. The wind mage stood up and made his way out of the underground passage. He stopped thinking that if someone comes here again they may discover that the place was taken for what it had. If they were on to them then it would impeded their ability to catch them. Especially if it meant getting in the way of getting the drop on them in Era. An easy enough fix. He already had an idea on how to deal with that. He moved up the passage, stopping once he reached the top floor.

He leaned his head on the back of the bookshelf and listened. He heard no sounds and felt no vibrations. He eased out from behind the shelf once more into the cozy and broken down home. He left the house as quietly as he came. His pack was full of all the evidence and the rest of the place didn’t have anything out of the ordinary. Given the recent demonic attacks he could probably play it off as collateral from the attack. Buildings were destroyed at various places around it, already.

He left the building and turned to face it. Magic began to swirl around him. A white magic circle appearing on the ground where he stood. His made a circle with his arms and thrust his hands forward. A tornado force wind sprung to life and collided with the building. Wood splinters and bricks splintered and crumbled In its wake. He moved his hands and more wind erupted forth once again hitting it with a whirlwind. Papers scattered into the air and ripped. Fragments of the tables and desks inside scoured the ground along with books from the shelf inside. The walls began to crumble and collapsed in. A third surge of air left the place in a pile of debris covering the ground. The building was now largely destroyed. It’d be difficult for anyone to siphon through all of the rubbish.

Kazimir made his way back, one final time to the destroyed officers building to meet Nilan. This time he brought something more substantial than an unruly culprit. Something that they could take action on. He moved through the halls that were becoming far to familiar to him and lifted the still unhinged door to Nilan’s office out of the way.

He entered and set the bag down in his desk. One by one he took the items out and plopped them on the desk. “I found these in the hideout. Probably something bigger than we thought,” kaz said. Nilan’s eyes growing wider as he leaned on the edge of his desk taking in all that he saw. The officers hands ruffling through the coats. Stopping to analyze the symbols on them.

“Was there anything else Kazimir?” he asked with trepidation. Nilan continued to shift the robes around until he came to the papers.

Kazimir reached into his pocket to pull out the small note he found, “This is the most important thing I found,” he handed it over. “Apparently there is going to be a meeting in Era. This thing is big Nilan,” Kaz added in a flat tone, but his eyes flashed a serious stare.

Nilan nodded back and took the note from Kaz. The officers eyes soaking in what was scribbled on it and he let out a heavy sigh. His eyes closed and he set the letter back down. “Thank you,” he said, opening his eyes once more and looking at Kaz. “This thing has been a nightmare. But now I can get a task force together with Era and at least take out some of the heads of this thing.”

Nilan reached under his desk and brought out a small sack that he handed to the wind mage. They had gotten too used to this routine. “Here you go,” Nilan said.

The wind mage grabbed the bag and stuffed it away, “Thanks. If you need me for the strike force, you know how to reach me,” he turned to walk out the door. Another assignment done with the officer. Kaz’s eyes were heavy, he was just about done with this town. It was time for him to meet up with the inquisition and get on to bigger things. Nilan could handle things from here.
WC 750
Total WC 3,000