[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/aRfAXko.png[/img][/center] [hr] [u][b]Metropolis[/b][/u] [hr] Yalen had stayed up late last night and woken up early. The sun was still half below the horizon when he crawled out from under his bed cover. He hadn’t gotten a healthy amount of sleep before their big outing, but it was easy enough to trick his brain into believing he did with the application of chemical trickery. That combined with a tincture of ground holly and he was as alert as he needed to be, at least for today. Before getting dressed Yalen dedicated an hour or so to prayers and self reflection. Some things had to be done whether he was on a mission or not. After his prayers were finished Yalen lit two sticks of incense, one for Dami and one for Oraff, and placed them in a holder at his bedside. He threw open the curtains to let in what little light there was at this early hour. The window was still opaque with morning dew, not yet evaporated by the coming sunrise. The priest donned his vestments and gathered the full extent of his equipment and provisions, anticipating that today would involve more than a simple tour of the city. The medicines he carried needed to be properly maintained for freshness, so he used some of the spare time and replaced the oiled paper holding his remedies with fresh material, provided to him free of charge by their Rettanese benefactors. Yalen sat down for the morning meal and tucked into a bowl of wonton soup. As he did so his eyes continuously wandered between the Xiulan, the innkeepers, and their Eeaiko exchange student. Yalen was finally able to pinpoint why the figure he detected last night felt so familiar after being in close proximity to her. She was an exact match. What was she doing while believing the rest of them to be asleep? Was Kaureerah trying to complete the mission on her own, or was she betraying her trust and giving information to the enemy? He couldn’t go throwing around accusations without proof of either motive, so Yalen was unable to confront her about it. Even if he brought it up she could just play dumb. For now he resolved to keep an even closer eye on their fishy friend until her loyalties could be determined. After breakfast the group departed the inn for the day and ventured into the city. Yalen couldn’t help but feel that Ersand’Enise was more pleasant to be in, but he knew it was an unfair comparison to make. The size of this place dwarfed the academy city by orders of magnitude, so a little bit of grime and poverty was to be expected. It still wasn’t as filthy as Mudville. When they passed by the spice market, Yalen was singled out by a scrappy looking kid carrying a burlap sack on his back. The boy tugged on his priestly robes while trying to communicate some kind of offer in broken Avincian. “Look, look! Medicine! Very good! You buy!” The kid opened his sack and tried showing off an assortment of powders and liquids. Yalen recognized most of them to be common remedies for things like stomach aches and sore teeth. His guess was that this was a pharmacist’s son. It was too bad that he could make simple medicines like that on his own. [color=FD5E53]”No, I don’t really…“[/color] Yalen raised his hand in objection, but his interest was piqued by one item that he was totally unfamiliar with. [color=FD5E53]”What’s this?“[/color] Yalen pinched one of the boy’s bags and inspected it. The smell and appearance of this powder was something he’d never encountered before while studying at the monastery. “Watch!” The kid stuck his finger into the bag, and when he pulled it out his finger was nearly invisible. Yalen’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t even heard rumors of something like this existing in Constantia. Was this a Rettanese special? [color=FD5E53][i]I must have this.[/i][/color] Yalen dug out his coin purse and bartered with the peddler while his escort impatiently shuffled their feet behind him. [hr] Yalen boredly picked at his food while listening to the Exemplar on the patio. The day was more than half gone, and the only progress they had made in regards to the mission so far was being handed some folders containing a briefing on the murder cases. While that was certainly helpful, he would rather be doing something productive. Why hadn’t they been given these documents upon arrival? Why did this feel more like a tour than an investigation? Was someone trying to lead the team by the nose? Yalen’s mind was so full of negative thoughts he could no longer recall what Wu Long and the others were talking about. Well, except the part about magic use in Rettan. He had some thoughts about their crackdown on mages based on his trip to the future, but he reminded himself that now was not the time to get philosophical. [hr] "你的主人在哪里!?" (Where is your master?) the woman shouted at the old man. She was beautiful, but steely-eyed and severe in bearing. "不知道!" (Don't know!) he insisted, "我不知道!" (I don't know!) he cried. "我不相信你" (I don't believe you.) came the frosty reply. The already-thinning crowds swirled back to a distance, radiating fear, but they did not entirely flee as kicks rained down upon the old servant. "What's his crime?" Kaureerah blurted, clearly distraught at the display. "How do they know he's guilty!?" Xiulan shifted uncomfortably, but she put on a sympathetic smile and grabbed hold of the eeiako's hand. "I know it is... distressing," she admitted, and Kaureerah noticed that her hand was trembling, "But if the Grey Ghosts come for him, he is guilty already. One hundred percent, or he's master. He has been done some very bad sing. Do not to worry." Wu Long sat there, tall and stoic, expression unreadable. "Do not worry," he repeated, with slightly better grammar, "This is Retan." Yalen didn’t say anything at first as he watched the situation unfold, but a few of his other comrades were unable to maintain their composure in the face of such brutality. He cringed as Niallus and Maura debated Wu Long on the principles of justice and fair treatment. [color=FD5E53][i]It’s not like the rest of us aren’t thinking the same as you. But it is not the time to be acting like a hero![/i][/color] Yalen pinched the bridge of his nose. Throwing accusations at their hosts was no way to get on their good side. He was lucky the Exemplar was a reasonable man. If it was another official being chided, the servant might have gotten beaten even worse. Niallus might have been arrested. Then the mission would be tits up. In an attempt to clear the air, Yalen decided to speak up despite his misgivings. [color=FD5E53]"Violence is just one tool a lawmaker can use to achieve compliance. This is true in every country, not just Rettan."[/color] Yalen gave Wu Long a knowing look. He himself knew quite a bit about the enhanced interrogation techniques of the Somnian order. He'd put them into practice more than once. [color=FD5E53]"Magic users are a dangerous sort. Maybe the guards viewed this level of force to be necessary in order to protect themselves and the public. We lack too many details to be casting judgment this early..."[/color] The priest walked towards the guards and their soon to be prisoner and placed his hands behind his back. [color=FD5E53]"If you don't mind me asking, was this man resisting arrest?"[/color] Wu Long allowed Xiulan to repeat Yalen's words in Retanese for the Greys and Yang addressed him in response. [color=ed1c24]"She says that he was resisting the Emperors' justice by attempting to flee and that he made it worse by feigning ignorance."[/color] Wu Long's eyes flicked Yalen's way and caught his. [color=ed1c24]"That is her accusation."[/color] Yalen tilted his head to the left and scratched his chin. [color=FD5E53]"So he fled."[/color] He turned to face the leader of the Greys and gestured towards the servant. [color=FD5E53]"What were you shouting at him earlier? Was he using magic, or is he wanted for some other reason?"[/color] The man began shouting, then, directing it towards Yalen, eyes flicking desperately in Xiulan's and the Exemplar's direction. "我不知道他在哪里。我什么都不知道！我没有做错!" The translator looked worriedly towards Wu Long, but he nodded. [color=ed1c24]"You may do your job without fear,"[/color] he assured her, and she swallowed and nodded, reproducing Yalen's words in her native tongue. Yang scowled and replied. [color=a2d39c]"She says he's master lets some criminal stay zere and hides it from the government."[/color] She paused nervously. [color=a2d39c]"The old man says he does not know where he's master is. He knows no sings. He didn't to do anysing wrong."[/color] Yang regarded Yalen appraisingly, as if to say, 'Are you going to keep talking or are you going to do something?' In the background, the man began shouting again and it sounded more or less like the same thing. He prostrated himself on the ground, tears streaming down his face. [color=FD5E53]"Let me talk to your prisoner for a second."[/color] Yalen crouched down in front of the man and pulled the back of the man's shirt so he was eye level with him. He patted the servant's cheek and subtly toyed with his brain chemicals to make him a bit calmer. The priest didn't care if the Greys bristled at him. They appeared to understand he was trying to help them and kept their mouths shut. [color=FD5E53]"Hey, hey, please settle down. Who do you work for mister? Who is your master?"[/color] He asked. Yalen looked towards Xiulan and tipped his chin upwards. To the best of Yalen's knowledge, Xiulan translated his words, glancing over her shoulder at Wu Long more than once. "这房子是为皇帝的外宾预留的。我叫宝，只在这里工作。来此拜访的人名叫灰。 我发誓这是真的!" came the old servant's response, complete with further prostration and a pleading tone. Xiulan did her best to capture it without going over the top. [color=a2d39c]"Zis house was reserved for the emperor's foreign guests. My name is Bao and I only to work here. Ze name of ze person who came to visit was Hui. I swear it's true!"[/color] He appeared to be so worked up that a light application of Chemical magic would not be enough to calm him. Before Yalen could manage so much as a response, however, Lady Yang cut in. [color=848484]"他已经告诉我们五次了。他没有说谎，但他遗漏了信息。"[/color] She shook her head tightly, clearly unhappy. Xiulan shrank away from her and looked to the Exemplar again, but he nodded again for her to translate. [color=a2d39c]"She say he said zis sing five times already and he is honest but he not saying other informations."[/color] Yalen sighed and dropped his head down in frustration. He really wanted to take his time here, but time was short and the guards wouldn't stand there watching him chat the man up forever. There had to be a way to open him up in the next couple of minutes, or else he'd just have to move on to the next part of the puzzle with pieces missing. [color=FD5E53][i]What can I do to get him to talk...[/i][/color] Yalen thought. If the man kept repeating himself then his guess was that the servant either scared stupid, or he was being threatened by someone. He squeezed the man's head with both hands and forced the servant to look him straight in the eye. With the Blessing of Joy he stimulated the production of endorphins in the man's brain to alleviate his stress. If he still refused to talk then more drastic measures would be necessary... [color=FD5E53]"Listen to me very carefully Mr. Bao. You haven't told us [b]nearly[/b] enough for us to be satisfied. These men are not going away until you give us more information, so you better start talking while they're still in a lenient mood. WHO is your master, and WHAT does he do? I need you to give more clues so I can convince these guards to let you go. You'd like that wouldn't you?"[/color] Yalen punctuated his statement by shaking Bao's head a little bit. 'Mr. Bao' stiffened when Yalen grabbed him so forcefully, before his mind was fried with emotions that were not his own. In response to the Meattan's chemical stimulus, his lips started to pucker, before breaking into an uncontrolled smile. Yalen continued, delivering his threats, and Xiulan duly translated, though it was difficult to tell if she had gotten the tone correct. The man knew what they were, however, for he was not stupid. He listened on, even as he was shaken, and an enormous, vacant, tooth-filled grin split the lower half of his face. Then, his mouth opened, and he laughed. He laughed. And he laughed. And he [i]laughed[/i]. "你问我谁是我师父?" he suddenly blurted, voice going cold and icy. Xiulan began to translate: [color=a2d39c]"You ask me who is my master?"[/color], but his grin was a sick thing now: sick and toothy. "Aaaaah haha! Aha! Aaaahahahaaaa!!" In the background, the last rays of the sun dipped below the rooftops. All around Yalen came the drawing of powerful magics, most of all from Lady Yang. "你看不到我的主人，但他看到了你!" (You do not see him, but he sees you!) An outward explosion of kinetic energy erupted from the Servant and slammed into Yalen, sending him flying across the street.