This is bad.

Everything is not going according to plan. I came out here to get away from all this political nonsense. But it’s not my fault! I tried my best after all. If only it weren’t for that damn time mage and her goons in the mage guild! Ever since they started pressuring me life has been nothing but hell...

At first it came across as a simple request. Oh? A veteran member doing some research for your organization goes missing and you want me to conduct a proper investigation? Why of course I’d love nothing more than to help! Mayor Isaac Simmons is all yours! Just don’t kill me!

So I ask the captain of the militia to look into the disappearance and he learns about a small cave in the woods. Apparently his nephew hasn’t been seen in a few days either which is a minor cause for concern but I send them out anyway. Those men left 3 days ago...

What the hell am I supposed to do now! Mages harass me with mail every single day for answers I don’t have while hardly bothering to conceal their threats. Brooksdam had already been following a financial decline given our lack of exports, and with 7 disappearances in such a short amount of time the people are hardly calm. A single major incident could send them running.

Forsaking my pride as mayor I’d contacted an old friend from my academy days. I didn’t have much to offer him in compensation if he demanded it but Eli always was too kind for his own good. He’d pulled a squad of new recruits out of the Dungeon of Arthropods to help me under the guise of “field training”. Once this is all over and done with I’ll owe him more than just a drink.

I stood on the edge of town as around 30 armored men and woman slowed their mounts. Each of these soldiers had been deemed strong enough to defend the capital directly and made quite the impression. Most of all Eli himself. 6 and half feet of pure muscle and training, the perfect sculpture of a brown haired man hardly felt real. Compared to the pale and sweaty appearance of myself this man was a truly fit to serve the king. At one point he’d even been considered as a royal retainer, the highest honor a knight could receive.

Jolly as could be Eli waved an armored hand as he hopped off his pure white steed. Alongside him on a spotted white horse was a woman I had never met but certainly heard stories of, Valentia Crestal. Standing only a few inches shorter than her captain the white haired beauty had been chased by many a suitor since she suddenly showed up in Illia. Any who would attempt to get close to her would find a cold and abrasive woman whose twin rapiers weren’t just for show. She certainly wasn’t the Vice-Captain of the royal knights and considered one of the 5 strongest members of the Illian military for nothing.

Even if I was old friends with Eli, having such important people come out to my small town in the middle of nowhere as a favor was making me nauseous.

“Simmons! Good to see you old friend! Been far too long since you’ve been in Centrilliam. Me and Crabro were missing you at the last reunion.”

Wincing as he almost tore my hand off I replied cordially “Yes a pity that. I haven’t seen Crabro in almost 8 years. We keep in contact with letters but you know how that goes.”

Shaking his head Eli smiled sadly “I’ll never understand why someone with your talents lives out here. You’d be better served in the royal courts or at the least looking over more territory. A real shame.” Gesturing behind himself Eli asked “Alright with you if I let these guys into town while we catch up? Knowing them your bars may get a tad full.”

“Of course it is. I hope our alcohol lives up to your spoiled pallets.”

As we regressed into our usual banter like only good friends could Valentia asked rather curtly in an accent I couldn’t place “Captain. I would like to be in attendance when we begin our investigation. Will that be acceptable?”

Waving a hand back as he grabbed my shoulder and began walking towards my home he answered “Sounds great! We can regale you with the tales of Isaac “Lightweight” Simmons while we eat.”

“N-now Eli that would seem a bit- “

“Gahahaha! Embarrassed now are we? Don’t worry I won’t embarrass you... much.”

---

Inside my meager mansion, that was in truth a reformatted management station for the long removed Brooksdam dam, Eli, Valentia, and I shared the best dinner I could muster. My paltry staff broke out the last of my wine and we partook in some expensive Glacial Crab legs harvested from the Dungeon of Crustaceans. Even from my window I could tell the town was treating the soldiers to their best as well. After some banter and pleasantries I steeled my nerves and got ready to begin the real reason for my old friend’s visit.

“Shall we get down to business Eli?”

Setting down his glass Eli’s joyful expression hardened slightly as the captain he technically was rose to the surface “Yes, we probably should. How about you give us a basic overview of the case and we’ll interject when needed? Remember this isn’t an interrogation and that the more you give us the better job we can do.”

“Indeed.” Valentia said getting a small notepad and quill from her pocket.

Folding my hands over the table and leaning in I began with a long exhale “I’ll start with some background information then. Ford Phalen is an old standing member mage’s guild, who has living with his 2nd son and his family here in Brooksdam for around 7 years. From the snippets I can pry from the guild’s correspondents he was a spatial mage specializing in planar research. During the initial investigation we uncovered that Ford left in a massive hurry to his research station, probably excited to carry out a potentially dangerous experiment. Sadly the guild won’t give me any information on what the old man may have been working on.”

Not looking up from her notes Valentia asked, “Do we have an exact location of this station?”

“Yes ma’am. It’s in a cave to the east around a day’s travel at most. The family has used it for camping in the past and has a map for reference. I’ll get you a copy before you head out.”

“I see. Please continue.”

“As I was saying he went out to this cave without telling anyone, not something terribly unusual for him. What was unusual was that he didn’t come back for an entire week. Naturally the family got worried and sent his nephew out to find him. Tricky thing is the kid never came back either.”

“Is it possible the kid got lost in the woods or attacked by something?” asked Eli this time.

“Doubtful. Shane was training to be a soldier and was an avid hunter. If anything happened to him in the woods, he should have been able to handle it.”

Nodding the captain said, “We’ll keep an eye out for a body, equipment, or any other sign of him on our way out regardless.”

Smiling sadly I answered “Thank you. The Phalen’s would appreciate some closure. At this point the mage guild was in contact with me over Ford and requested I follow up more thoroughly than I would for a normal investigation. Obviously I was made to comply and sent a standard 5 man unit to the cave. That was 3 days ago.”

Whistling Eli said “Wow... that’s a lot of people to go missing in such a small town so close to each other. Good thing you called when you did.”

Valentia followed up “Is there anything else noteworthy that has happened around here recently? It can be anything at all.”

Pausing for a moment I eventually answered “It really isn’t anything unusual but our hunters have been slightly less successful as of late. That started after Shane’s disappearance though so I doubt it’s related.”

Shaking her head Valentia looked me in the eye and said “No sir, that could be a major indication. If animals are harder to hunt that likely means a drop in the local population. In the middle of summer I can’t see plant life becoming scarce so we may be looking at a new predator that’s been introduced to the ecosystem. Reading in between the lines we could be looking at a rogue chimera or other failed experiment.”

“Do you think it’s a beast killing all these people?”

Cupping her chin she said “It’s only a possibility but a dangerous one. A beast capable of killing 5 trained guards regardless of skill level is a potential threat..

Standing Eli shook my hand again and said “Thank you so much for dinner Simmons. We’ll head out for the cave tomorrow and hopefully return with some answers.”

Bowing I said “Thank you both so much. I can do little more than hope for your safe return.”

Goodbyes made I walked them to the door and a maid closed it behind my guests. Soon as she’d done so I fell down to my knees. Even something as simple as that wears me out now? What happened to “Silver Tongued Simmons” eh? I fear I’ve gone lazy so far out in the country. If this keeps escalating though I may need to work the old social networking talent a bit harder...