Chapter 12 Keelan
Istepped through the doorway and tossed my boots by the door.
Something so simple shouldn’t feel that good, but after a day like today, it felt amazing to get out of them.
I’d missed yet another dinner in the Officers’ Mess and was down to eating tidbits from the pantry, so I grabbed the last slightly-soft apple and the somewhat stale end of a loaf.
I really had to get better at keeping the house stocked.
Between bites, I unhooked the leather strap on the folio the Arch Mage had given me and began to read.
Freeport Constable Notes, Addendum to File 4.327-8, Month 10, Day 1, Report Time 23:15
Sergeant Dav Colby, Investigative Lead
Criminal Matter: Missing Person
Victim: Bel Crim
Description of Alleged Crime: Vic left Mages’ Guild at approximately 18:00.
Wtns at guild states vic said she was leaving to meet her parents for dinner at Campfire Grille on East Doarn Avenue.
Vic last seen exiting and walking east. Vic never arrived at destination.
At 22:05, mother and father presented to Constable Beel (4301), who was patrolling area.
Vic last seen by Mage-Apprentice Kirin Knight.
Physical Description of Victim: Female, twenty-two, average height, slim build, waist-length blond hair/straight, blue eyes.
At time of report, vic wore pale yellow ankle-length dress with white lace/Gifted gold trim on collar and cuffs, brown shoes with small silver buckles, small gold signet ring (Crim family seagull flying over ship with sails).
Additional Information: Vic’s Gift—Mental, Empath, power level strong.
Freeport Constable Notes, Addendum to File 4.327-8, Month 10, Day 2, Report Time 11:15
Sergeant Dav Colby, Investigative Lead
Criminal Matter: Missing Person
Victim: Bel Crim
Investigation Notes:
Witness Interview: Mage-Apprentice Kirin Knight.
Wtns states vic was at guild from apprx 11:00 to 18:00.
Vic was studying with senior Mages. Vic left guild at apprx 18:00.
Vic told wtns she had dinner plans with parents (Lord Jereth Crim, Lady Fely Crim) at Campfire Grille on East Doarn Avenue.
Vic excited b/c dinner to talk about betrothal.
Wtns walked vic to door, saw her leave and head east.
Vic not carrying anything. Wtns stated vic was upbeat, noted vic was singing as she left. Known vic for three years.
Search of Route to Vic’s Stated Destination. Walked route twice. Spoke with multiple Merchants along route and none reported seeing vic. Found nothing unusual.
Search of Vic’s Residence. Vic lives with parents.
Perimeter doors and windows to manor appear undisturbed.
No unusual visitors or trespassers reported by staff.
Interviewed cook, valet—neither reported anything unusual over past week at manor.
Vic acting normal, seemed happy. Lord/Lady Crim allowed search of vic’s rooms—Lady Crim accompanied to answer questions.
Nothing appeared disturbed or out of place.
Public Release. Coordinated with Editor of Freeport News, included sketch of vic. No tips from public as of this report.
I rubbed my temples as a headache threatened. There was so little to start with, and it was now days after the initial report, days after the women were taken.
The trail was stone cold.
I dropped into my oversized, overstuffed chair, the one piece of furniture that wasn’t standard issue and held the barest hint of comfort. I only intended to rest my feet for a few moments.
When the sun broke over the horizon, I struggled to shake the fogginess from my head and the stiffness from my neck. I rose to the edge of the chair and stretched, then stood and hobbled on stiff legs to the hearth. I started a fire and hung an ancient, blackened pot filled with water to boil.
While the water heated, I reviewed the notes.
Again finding nothing noteworthy, I turned my attention to assembling my team.
I had already put myself in charge of Tiana’s investigation.
I knew I should avoid any case where personal feelings might be involved, but rationalized that Tiana and I had only spent one short evening together, so there was nothing to compromise.
I added a couple of Guards I trusted to the list, then turned to the Freeport search.
I scribbled Ridley’s name, added another, and then wrote Mage/Telepathy on a blank line.
The idea had come late in the night. I would need to coordinate with the team in Freeport, and having a Mage who could send updates telepathically would be helpful.
After some thought, remembering Commander Albius’s concern regarding spies who might be embedded in both the Guard and Mages’ Guild, I decided against adding any other additions to the teams.
I filled my mug, threw on my uniform, and headed to the Officers’ Mess.
Ridley was already halfway through his meal when I flopped down beside him. As I surveyed the mountains of eggs, bacon, and biscuits stacked on plates in the middle of the table, my stomach reminded me I’d been skipping meals.
“Morning, LT,” Ridley said, raising his mug of steaming tea in salute.
I grunted acknowledgment through a mouthful of biscuit, melted butter dripping from my fingers.
When I got the bite down, I glanced up and whispered, “I want you on the search down south. I know you’re still a cadet, but this thing is bigger than we realized, and I need someone I can trust. You’ll have one other Guardsman, and I’ll get a Mage assigned to your team as well.”
“Just three of us? Seems kinda slim for a high-profile case, don’t you think?” Ridley asked.
“Lower your voice—and no details here. I’ll explain what I can later, but this has to be kept quiet. Bigger teams mean bigger leaks. We’ll talk about reporting frequency and timing later, but whatever you report, it stays between the two of us, understand?”
Ridley stared for a moment, his eyes narrowed. “Understood, but what if the search needs more people? Two Constables and a Mage won’t cut it if someone grabbed the victim and left town.”
“We’ll worry about that when we get to it. We might have to get a little creative with cover stories, too, but let’s focus on what’s in front of us right now. I’m briefing the Captain-Commander and Arch Mage at noon. Meet me at HQ at 14:00. In the meantime,
do a little digging into the political situation in Freeport. I haven’t heard of anything unusual lately, but the victim is an heiress, and her father is powerful. We might as well learn what we can before splitting up. Your team will need to leave for Freeport tonight.”
I stuffed a forkful of eggs into my mouth.
“I’ll head over to the Merchants’ Guild and see what I can learn. If anybody stays up on the politics of the outer cities, it’s the money guys. See you at 14:00.” Ridley downed the last of his tea and stood to leave.
“Oh, Ridley, one more thing.” I lowered my voice. “Tell me about your Gift. I know it’s Physical and endurance related, but we’ve never really talked about it. Given what we’re stepping into, I need to know every arrow we have in the quiver.”
Ridley sat again. “It’s Physical. Endurance is one way to say it. I rarely need more than an hour or two of sleep. It only takes a few minutes before I’ve recovered stamina enough for a second round in a fight. If we went on a long run,
I guarantee you’d lose that big breakfast before I even breathed heavy.”
“Huh,” I grunted.
“Came in handy in recruit training. When everybody else was falling out, I didn’t even break a sweat.”
A few hours later, I signed out a sturdy black gelding and made the short ride to eventually pass beneath the stone archway marking the entrance to the Mages’ Guild. The crystalline eyes of the Phoenix engraved in gold at the top of the archway followed me as I passed.
The Guild Hall was a marble building bearing carved glyphs every few paces the full length of its exterior. The ever-present Phoenix was etched across double doors, its eyes of fist-sized rubies flaring brightly every time a Mage entered the hall, as if welcoming that child of magic home.
I grew up within the walls of the Mages’ Compound but had never been inside the Guild Hall.
I handed the reins to a stable hand, then strode across the courtyard and through the doors into the well-lit foyer.
Inside, richly paneled walls lined the corridors.
The floors, a black marble swirling with gray tones, created a dizzying sense of perpetual motion.
Large basin-like braziers were polished to the point of mirror-like clarity and spaced every few paces.
A cerulean flame danced above each bowl, flaring brightly as I strode past.
Before I could wander too far from the entryway, a stubby, rotund man in cobalt robes appeared through a doorway on the far wall.
The man’s face split into a wide grin when his eyes locked with mine, and he launched himself at a full waddle, nearly knocking me off my feet as he wrapped me in a tight embrace.
“Keelan, they sent you! Welcome home, my boy.”
I took a step back and said with as much authority and mock offense as possible, “Mage Fergus, as I’m certain you know, it’s unlawful to place hands on a member of the Guard. I will have to report this aggression at once.”
Fergus straightened as tall as his pudgy frame would allow and scowled up at the giant before him. “Young man, pick on someone in your own weight class. It’s taken me two hundred years to get fat enough to squash you, and I’m not afraid to do it.”
We laughed, and I embraced the old Mage again. When he stepped back, I had to wipe a hint of moisture from my eyes. For once, the troubled boy deep in my heart smiled, and my inner darkness remained quiet.
“Uncle Ferg, I’ve really missed you all.”
“This place has been quiet without you and your little brother. Oh, we have all those other children trying to show off, but you two breathed new life into these stale buildings—and into the crusty old men who live here.”
Fergus patted his amble belly as his eyes drifted into the past.
“We never knew how badly we needed laughter until Declan the Terrible streaked through these halls, quite literally.”
He chuckled. “It feels like just yesterday that you landed in our laps. Where is Declan these days? What sort of trouble has he gotten himself into?”