Night fell on the City of Lights.

Normally, such nights would pass by like any other. The City of Lumiere would shine brightly even in darkness, a bustle of activity at all times.

---However, recently the atmosphere had grown far more tense. The rumors spreading throughout the common folk of sightings of a certain legendary killer had made the streets a little more empty. While there was no real proof of the return of the legendary Spring-heeled Jack, the mere idea of the killer who had soaked the streets of Refne's capital in blood was making the populace frightened.

The Moonlight Society had already insisted they would look into it, despite the evidence being scarce. Despite the insistence of its current head, that she had burned the murderous warlock to ashes fifty years ago.

The truth was that no matter how unlikely, the society that governed impossibilities could not dismiss something as merely being impossible.

---But that was not what these witches were here for. That was a duty for more experienced, higher-ranking magic practitioners.

No, this particular crew, who had been assembled fairly swiftly to be deployed on a relatively low-level task, were investigating something entirely different.

The Powder District was known for the production of gunpowder, particularly for the creation of fireworks, a process that had been imported from the distant East. Yet, somehow, it seemed like dark dealings occasionally took place here.

It was hardly the first time the Moonlight Society had dispatched witches to investigate some hint of illicit dealings with illegal supernatural items in the Powder District. It would certainly not be the last.

The low, dark buildings stood in the fading sunlight, cobblestones shiny from a recent rainstorm when the witches arrived. The streets were fairly empty, but thankfully that didn't mean they'd be without any leads.

It had been reported by a policeman who had been on patrol. The sighting of a man carrying [i]something[/i] caged, disappearing into an alleyway.

Something glittering like a miniscule star, fluttering about and trying to escape its bounds.

The description brought to mind something rather specific---

A fae.

A fae smuggling operation, in order to harvest the dust from the wings of the most diminutive of their kind, would be a violation of not just Refne's law, but also the treaties between the humans of the nation and those who dwelt in the forest.

To put it simply, it had to be stopped.

That was the reason for their presence in the Powder District.

Thankfully, they would not be stumbling in the dark and attempting to locate a specific alleyway without any direction.

[url=https://safebooru.org//samples/4417/sample_7a0acdeff3be672eae03d346fa9959c550b01967.jpg?4607149]The waifish girl who had been sent alongside them, currently regarding their surroundings expressionlessly, was a Lantern.[/url]

With her assistance, they'd be able to pinpoint a location more effectively, and from there---

Defeat the criminals, and rescue any captured fae.

It may have seemed like a tall order to some, but for the Moonlight Society, it was part of their duty.

Hopefully, they would pull it off without issue.