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PARDON? WE JUST NEED to organise-”
“My daughter has gone missing, and I won’t be organising any tours until she is back,” the woman snapped, flashing sharp teeth. Her pale hands shook as she tried to lock her door. Her thick, dark nails caught on the keyring until she fumbled so badly, she dropped the keys. Wolflock saw that her right hand sported a large masculine gold ring with the same symbol of the crow with a blue eye.
An electric thread flashed through Wolflock’s mind. There was no one better equipped with motive or means to find her child than he was. He needed to get up the mountain. He would find her daughter.
Wolflock crouched down and put his hand over hers on top of the keys. He looked into her crimson eyes, bloodshot from crying, and spoke in his most serious tone, “We will help you find your daughter. Tell me everything.”
He stood back up and locked the door with the only key on the ring that was large enough to be a front door key before handing them back to her.
“Are... Are you the officers the Guard sent?” she asked, looking dubious and hopeful. “You’re both very young.”
“No, ma’am. I’m-”
“This is Wolflock Felen, greatest appraising investigator in all of Puinteyle,” Mothy jumped in with a helpful smile. “He’s solved cases along the Zilber River, Creast and the road to Mystentine, helping lots of people with problems and mysteries they couldn’t solve themselves. Just a few days ago, he helped find a woman who had been lost for forty years and the cure for the disease in the Creast Bay. If there was ever a person to help you find your daughter, it is this man here.”
Wolflock’s heart swelled with fondness for his dear friend as he spoke, but the woman looked suspicious of his high praise. Seeing her lack of confidence growing, Wolflock glanced over her and the front door of the building.
“I understand your concern for my abilities, Ms Vuori, but I can assure you that I am capable. I often see things others do not, and that goes for the local constabulary as well. For instance, I can see that you are the owner and resident of this establishment by the ring on your hand. Not only does the sign and the door maintain the same symbol, but that ring is an heirloom. The old style is likely to have been created for a man, given its shape, but the worn onyx stones that make up the raven have been scratched. That normally takes extensive, arduous work and a lack of care, or generations of wearing. This building is of a much older style, and you can tell by the rough shape of the chimney that it is far older than the other residences and businesses around it. Knowing Mystentine is a historically significant city, it is safe to assume that it would be passed down to the children of the descendants, rather than being sold off. I would also say that the plaque by your door,” he gestured to an old brass plaque by the entrance saying,
By the grace of the mountain gods and the luck of the downtrodden.
We rise above. We rise beyond.
By the strength of will alone we sought our salvation.
May the first to arrive be the last to die.
In memory of those who fell at the slaughter that brought us here,
Let us remember that with enough courage, wisdom, and kindness:
All evil can be defeated by love.
Efiar, In the 1st Year of Queen Uru’sila
“... that the quoted person would be your ancestor.”
She frowned at him and lifted her nose. “Anyone can get that from history books or gossiping around town. I’m reluctant to believe you got all of that from my ring.”
“But he did-” Mothy started to defend him, but Wolflock raised his hand to stop him.
“I can also tell that your missing daughter is your only child, as you locked your front door. If someone was within, minding the other children, they would have done this for you. You live a self-sufficient life with no servants or house staff, and you are the one others go to for help. This is why, when you went to the Guard this morning to report your daughter missing and didn’t receive the help you wanted, you were more upset than most because you know you would have gone above and beyond for anyone else in your position.”
She bit her lip, her shoulders tensing again.
“You also suffer from chronic neck and shoulder tension from carrying these burdens alone. Now, I would not do you the dishonour of aiding you purely through charity. When we find your daughter, all I ask is that my friend and I are guided up the mountain to the university before Winter blocks our way.”
Ms Vuori rolled her shoulders, as if testing to see if he was right, then cracked her neck by dropping her pointed pale ears to her shoulders one at a time.
“Fine. Yes. Very well. That’s a deal. I’m going back to the Guard station to demand answers. They said they’d contact me by lunch, and that has passed.”
“Wonderful.” Wolflock rubbed his hands together. “Mothy, let’s leave our luggage here. Theod will travel faster if we travel light.”
He and Mothy put their things under Ms Vuori’s porch seats and jumped into Theod’s buggy for the fastest route to the Guard station.
“Now, please tell us everything. Any small detail could be the key to your daughter’s whereabouts.”
“Ahem.” Mothy looked pointedly at Wolflock. “I’m Mothy, Ms Vuori. Would you like us to address you like that? And, also, what is your daughter’s name?”
Ms Vuori swallowed back her anxiety and tears as she gathered her thoughts. “Lija. My little girl is Lija. She’s only a decade old. She’s turning eleven in two months. When I woke up this morning, I called her down for breakfast. She’s getting to the age where she sleeps in a lot, some days as late as lunch, so I thought she was still snoozing. I brought her breakfast to her, but she wasn’t there and her window was open. I rushed to the Guard station first thing this morning, but I could only find one man there. I gave him my statement and he said officers would be along around lunchtime to investigate. They never arrived. While I waited, I sent letters to my sister and Lija’s father. I asked everyone up and down the street and several lanes over if they had seen or heard anything, but no one had any information. They’re all worried and looking for me in the lanes over.”
“It sounds like a friendly community.” Mothy patted her arm.
“It is. Everyone knows everyone. Each suburb is like its own big family, and we all help each other. That’s how I was able to raise Lija these last five years by myself. It’s Lija who is the sociable one. She always comes home with dishes from the neighbours when I’m working late, and sends them back filled with something just as tasty. She’s very independent.” Ms Vuori broke down and wept into her hands. Mothy put his arm around her slender shoulders and comforted her until she could speak again.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Wolflock asked, trying to be as delicate as Mothy. “And did your sister or Lija’s father get back to you?”
“Yesterday evening at dinner. She likes to work on her projects in her room after dinner and it’s nice to see her focused, so I let her have her privacy while I read in the family room.” She dug through her dress pockets until she found a tightly crumpled ball of paper. “Her father sent me this. My sister hasn’t sent me word yet.”
It was hardly a letter and more a stress ball made of paper. Wolflock uncrumpled the parchment and smoothed it out.
To Kiipei Vuori
You haven’t spoken to me in months and the first thing you ask is “have you stolen our daughter”? Ludicrous! No I have not. This had better be a sick joke. Lija means the world to me. Please agree to see me so we can look for her together.
Yours always, Uskoton Dalur
The phrasing in the letter seemed peculiar. On one hand, he was very formal with certain words, and then insulting and volatile with others. Was it just fatherly stress? Given their separation and Ms Vuori only referring to him as “Lija’s father”, Wolflock guessed that they had a strained relationship. She had earlier said she raised Lija by herself for five years out of the eleven the child had seen, meaning that the father had likely done something to cause the separation back then. The last line in the note had a sense of desperation to reconnect. Searching separately would have been far more logical as they could cover more ground.
“What was the cause of your separation five years ago?” he asked, folding the note.
Ms Vuori scowled. “His wife came to live here from Quarenth.”
“Were you aware of his... relations?”
“Of course not! Filthy pig spent years wooing me, even raising a daughter and building a business together, only to turn around on my birthday and tell me his wife was arriving shortly. Apparently, she wanted to live in Mystentine to be close to him. I should have known he was lying to me this whole time. With his months of ‘business trips’ and his constant secrets!” her face contorted with rage as she spoke with absolute venom. “If I didn’t love my business and my daughter, I would have left a long time ago. I don’t know how the other woman stays with him. Once a liar, always a liar. I would have been fine with it all had he told us both the truth from the start. At least we could have come to an understanding. But she hates Lija and I. She’s one of those Troston raised women and only believes in strict monogamy; ‘until death do they part’. If she could, she’d be rid of both of us for good.”
Both young boys looked at each other uncomfortably through her outburst, but they couldn’t disagree with her.
“It’s just a basic lesson, isn’t it?” Mothy strained a smile to placate her. “All children are taught that lies do horrible things. Like leaving warts on your tongue.”
“They tie you in an inescapable web, so, to maintain one such as this without seeking understanding from all parties involved is disastrous.” Wolflock shrugged with his clinical logic. “What does your daughter look like?”
Ms Vuori took a breath. “She’s the mirror image of me, but with less lines on her face, and she is only this tall.” She held her hand out at chest height. “She often carries her black backpack around for errands. She’s a good runner and her backpack was specially made by my mother for her. It’s light and durable and bears our family crest.”
She held out her hand to show them the large gold ring with a shiny obsidian shaped into a raven with its bright blue eye.
“Black birds are fairly common,” Wolflock shrugged as he continued to look at the ring.
“Not this one. Ravens are sacred to most in Mystentine. They followed our ancestors from Ravenswood over the mountains and helped them find food, water, and shelter until they settled here. Our ravens have bright blue eyes. Most ravens have black eyes. It was through the breeding of owls and our ravens that we helped create the postal system of crowls.”
“Silent fliers but intelligent?” Wolflock asked, wondering what that combination could possibly look like.
“Exactly. They’re fast too.”
“So we’re looking for a young girl who looks like you with a backpack that has this symbol on it?” Mothy asked, looking over her ring.
Ms Vuori nodded. “It’s embroidered with black and blue wire, so it shines.”
“And what did her day consist of yesterday?” Wolflock asked.
Again, Ms Vuori took a breath, this time closing her eyes as she thought. “We woke up like usual. I rise at dawn and prepare breakfast, then we eat together. Lija was more tired than normal. She’d been up all night writing in her little adventure diary. I got to work on the reports for the last two trips up to the mountain and the others through the city, making sure our guides were organised. Lija went on her errands. She had to take my sister her medication, and she had a lot of letters to take to the post office. Her and her friends like to write little riddles to each other.” As she spoke Wolflock noticed a hesitation in her voice. “Then, she came home, and we ate dinner.”
“And what else?” He raised a dark eyebrow at her.
Ms Vuori clenched her fists on the buggy seat so hard her knuckles went white. “I asked her to not go to her father’s home. She’s a good girl, but she always does whatever she wants, and she loves her father dearly. I wouldn’t be surprised if she found her way there yesterday and didn’t tell me. That’s why I asked her father if he saw her yesterday, but you can see by his note that he hasn’t answered the question.”
“I will keep a note of that. Theod, how much longer until we reach our destination?”
The short horse bobbed his head as he thought for a moment. “Four more lanes over, Mr Felen. We’ll be there as the crowl flies. Speaking of silent flight, did you know one of my ancestors was known to have incredibly quiet hooves and helped lead the refugees from Grothener through to Mystentine in the years leading up to Queen Uru’sila’s rule? They were said to display tremendous resilience and survived the mountainous journey with only three blades of grass, some pine leaves, and by licking snow.”
Wolflock tuned out Theod again and began counting the lamp posts, tailors, and scribes as they clickety-clacked towards the Guard station. The station sat in a large plot consisting of four towers surrounding a squat central spire in a green field where people trained their bodies.
“The Mystentine Guard Headquarters and Training grounds used to be the barracks after the mountain became too hard to train troops on. This was the original keep built to protect the few people who had first settled here over one thousand years ago. Large enough to house just over one thousand people snugly with all the food, weapons, armour, livestock and resources needed to bunker down, this was a particular feat of the ingenuity of the desperate.” Theod continued with his running commentary as he drove them down the smooth road leading to the main offices.
The training grounds were filled with people practising their various exercises to keep their bodies in peak condition. Drills, laps, and obstacle courses were all in use as grey clad folk of all shapes and sizes performed athletic feats. As they drew closer to the main tower, he saw newer buildings had been added to the main one, giving room for classes. Through the windows into the newer buildings he could see classes, record halls, and rooms where people were tending to their equipment. All of them wore variations of a deep blue uniform with a cream undershirt, emblazoned with a shining, embroidered gold dragon head.
“Huh... The uniform is different in other countries. In Grothener the dragon head is silver.” Wolflock noted to Mothy.
“It’s gold in Shellinden too. There’re a lot of werewolves in the Guard down there and they don’t want them to get hurt on duty,” his friend responded.
Theod snorted happily. “The dragon was a mystical symbol of a creature with immense intelligence, understanding, compassion and power. It had been the Great Queen Uru’sila’s most beloved creature, and one she had entrusted to those who were willing to support the community and serve those who needed them most. From experience, most of the Guard are given mediation training first, then are sent back to their communities to help balance conflicts, always enabling both disputing parties to feel like they had come out even. Balance, fairness and diplomacy is the motto of all the Guards. To serve the community and all the people in it. Good golly gosh, it’s such a noble occupation.”
Wolflock sighed. As noble as that sounded, he was all too familiar with those that were weak willed and self-absorbed amongst the Guard and those they protected in Plugh.
Theod drew them through the courtyard and around to the entrance to the central tower. As they got out of the buggy, Wolflock saw classes being held where civilians were being taught by the Guards. He glimpsed a trust-fall exercise and remembered dropping one of the Thorn brothers on purpose to teach them a lesson when he’d been made to do it in Plugh. Wolflock also noticed that there appeared to be a high density of civilians in regular clothes demanding attention. Groups around him anxiously reported thefts and assault, while others were hauled through in shackles, stumbling as they struggled.
“There is the office you’re after. I’ll wait here for when you’re done,” Theod said, raising a hoof towards one of the squarish buildings built onto the main tower.
The three of them stepped out of the carriage and their shoes crunched on the loose gravel leading up to the little side building. The grey, faded sign above the door read “Division of Child Protection and Investigation”.
Wolflock knocked and opened the door, curious about why it wasn’t open like many of the other department doors were. He heard someone swear from within as something crashed to the floor. An older man had risen from his chair and, as he did, his clerk had tripped behind him, sending files and papers scattering around the small office.
That wasn’t the only thing out of place in the dishevelled office. Waste bins around the room were filled with crumpled balls of paper, investigation string laid strewn across the floor as if highly active kittens had tried their paws at solving clues, and chairless desks sat stacked with brown manilla folders. Only three desks had names on them; Captain H.J. Estivan, Officer B. Tand, and the last one had a handwritten paper insert saying “Administration Chestir Moi’ez” next to a piled up ashtray.
“Tand, help Chestir clean this up.” The older man gripped his curly auburn hair as the young lady with short spiky brown hair raced forward, slapping the clerk’s hands off the pile while she scooped up the papers. The older man turned to Wolflock, Mothy and Ms Vuori. “I’m so sorry, we’re a bit snowed under. How can I assist?”
Ms Vuori stammered as her face grew dark purple, “How can you assist? I’ve been waiting since dawn for your team to send someone down! My daughter has been missing since last night and you act as if you haven’t even started looking for her!”
The man Wolflock assumed to be Captain Estivan paled. “My deepest apologies. Ma’am, let me see if Chestir or Tand can find your file.” Tand’s amber eyes shot up, ready to jump to action as her captain spoke. “In the meantime, can you relay what has happened?”
“I gave it all to a thin man with short dark hair this morning, and I just told these boys the same-”
“A dark-haired thin man? I’m sorry ma’am. You must have been in a different building. It’s just the three of us here.”
Ms Vuori clenched her fist again. “No, I wasn’t. I was right here in this office. This is the only place to report a missing child. I was here at dawn.”
Captain Estivan looked up at the ginger haired man with thick glasses that magnified his eyes like an insect. “Chestir, you were here first this morning. Did you take this woman’s statement or see the person that did?”
“N-No sir. I came a little later than usual b-because I thought I was ahead in my work. I didn’t see anyone,” Chestir stammered as he picked up the files, bumping his hand with Officer Tand as he tried to help. She snapped at him with a bark and and glared him down until he returned the papers to the floor for her to sort.
Captain Estivan sighed, drawing out new paperwork for Ms Vuori. “You wouldn’t happen to be Lija’s mother, would you?”
Wolflock, Mothy and Ms Vuori froze. “Y-yes. I am. Do you know her?” Her face had just started to fade back to white when it started to flare up again. “Do you know my daughter?”
Captain Estivan looked at Officer Tand with an expression Wolflock could only describe as regret. “Lija has been asking myself and Officer Tand for mentoring. She hoped to get into the Guard when she was older, and, in her training, she has been running errands. Mostly helping us get food, medicine, and shelter to the street children. This... this is devastating for all of us to learn.”
Ms Vuori stifled a sob. “I... I had no idea. She just said she went out on adventures. Oh, my girl. My beautiful girl. Was she in any danger working for you?”
Captain Estivan shook his head. “None whatsoever. Her work involved going from one secure station to another. I... I’m sorry to admit it, but I thought she was just another street child or a foster child. She seemed very clever. Again, I am terribly sorry for this mix up. I will dedicate Officer Tand to your case immediately and it will be her number one priority. Missing children always take priority.”
“B-b-but sir.” Chestir shook. “We have the mayor’s special case about the increase in adolescent smoking and the West wall graffiti racket, as well as the seven break ins from last night-”
Captain Estivan raised his hand and Chestir fell silent. “Missing children always take priority, Chestir. All of that can wait. Even the mayor. And this is Lija. She’s important to all of us.”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. I forgot myself.”
“Well, you’d best go find yourself and your manners. Make sure these files are in the right folders and request assistance from the cadets. Now, Ms Vuori, was it?” Captain Estivan pushed the folders on his left further to the side, sending a few sliding off the desk. Mothy’s rapid reflexes caught them before they fell into the heaped waste bin. “What can you tell me about your daughter’s disappearance?”
As Ms Vuori went through her tale again, Wolflock looked around the room. The wooden walls were covered from ceiling to dado rail with missing item posters, wanted graffiti artists, bullies, and missing persons from other departments. A bowl with only a few shiny pink candies sat on the guest side of the desk. He saw each desk had a similar bowl, but only three had any presence of the hard candy.
Out of the five desks, three were in constant use, one looked as if it were used purely for storage, but the last one had a place cleared where someone had been working on something recently. Besides the door they came through, there were two doors leading into other rooms.
Officer Tand opened the first door into a little kitchen and lunchroom that had also become storage, with mountains of folders and papers stacked against the walls. The folders were bundled with a distinct red string Wolflock noticed was only on Officer Tand’s desk.
Ah... He thought to himself, She’s in charge and makes sure no one touches the filing system. I’m glad Myna isn’t here. She’d find ways to sneak these things around anyway.
She made Ms Vuori a cup of relaxing tea by turning a red gemstone in a slot on the kettle. It made it whistle, but, as she caught Wolflock’s eye while he watched her, the gemstone shot out at rapid speed and shattered against the wall.
“Captain? Can you order a new hot stone?”
Captain Estivan groaned, putting his tired face in his hands. “You can get one when you go to Ms Vuori’s home to investigate, Officer.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And these boys have to join us,” Ms Vuori said quickly, not taking a sip of her tea. “I need everyone I can working on this.”
“Uh... Listen, ma’am, I know you’re worried about your child, but-”
“No. Tand. She’s right. A few extra eyes will help. They’ll go with you as Ms Vuori’s company. Find every location Lija went to over the last two days. There are very few travellers in town besides students heading up before Winter. We’re understaffed enough as it is. Dig around the warehouses and the apothecary, and make sure you contact her father.”
“Sir.” Chestir stood up with a stiff back and looked as if he were about to salute. “I would also like to be of assistance. I could go with Officer Tand and take all the notes necessary so that she can think on her feet. I can also report back if these... guests... are interfering with the investigation.”
Captain Estivan considered the proposal, but Tand jumped in first. “That won’t be necessary, sir. I’m perfectly fine to take all my own notes. I don’t need the help. I’ll have enough on my hands with Ms Vuori and her friends.”
“Very well, officer. Report back this evening by note or person. Dismissed.”
With admirable determination, Officer Tand collected her work belt and a file, and held the door for Ms Vuori, Mothy and Wolflock to leave.
“You’re not fond of Chestir’s affections?” Wolflock smirked as they made their way back to Theod’s buggy.
“Ah. I see you do have powers of observation. That will be useful. Ms Vuori, we need to see Lija’s room first, so please take us back to your home. We’ll begin there.” Tand shook her head back as if she had long hair, looking like a filly with a trimmed mane.
She’s cut her hair recently and gone much shorter than she is used to, He looked her over for indications that she was upset with them being there, but if she was, it was overshadowed by her happiness being out of the office.
“What’s in that file? You didn’t have one on Lija before we came in. What is of importance in there?” Wolflock asked bluntly as Theod took off again.
“That’s for me to know and for you to prove you can put more clues together than a one-sided office romance.”