Chapter 74: Mage Hunter Business

The anti mage hadn't made a fuss when Syryn informed him of the addition of a third passenger. As soon as they were on their way, the alchemist noticed how reticent Artemus was.

"I'm sorry," Syryn said to the dark-haired man who had barely spoken a word to him. He wasn't quite sure what the apology was for but it seemed like Artemus was unhappy and Syryn felt the need to say something.

Bewildered onyx eyes turned to him. "What are you apologising for?"

"I don't know. Have I done something wrong? You seem upset."

Artemus sighed at himself, dark eyes flickering over briefly to the uncharacteristically silent Sebastian. "I've been preoccupied with something that came up this morning. You haven't done anything wrong, Syryn. It's my fault for making you think my bad mood was directed at you."

"What came up this mornin'?" Sebastian piped in. The two men exchanged a look that was charged with animosity.

"Mage hunter business," came Artemus' cold reply.

"Are ya sure it's nothin' I can't find out by askin' your Sanguine friends?" Sebastian's tone was challenging but a lazy smirk diluted the challenge making it sound more like the mage was teasing Artemus.

"Go ahead and bug another Sanguine then," Artemus told Sebastian in the world's most monotone voice.

Syryn watched the smirk on Sebastian's face slowly become thoughtful.

"Artemus, how about we exchange some information? I know you stuck up bastards are lookin' for a break in the case of Rum district's dead mages."

The mention of Rum district turned Artemus' attention back onto Sebastian. The anti mage's focus was whip-like.

"What do you know about it?"

"I'll tell you if you agree to spill the mage hunter secret that's got you so bothered."

Artemus stared at Sebastian like he was wondering if talking to the mage was worth the knowledge he would receive. "If it's information that we already know, I'm not telling you anything."

Syryn closed his eyes and listened to the sound of wheels on the dirt road. He was oddly tired and had a headache that felt like a cold hand placed over his brain.

"Fine by me. So where do I begin?"

Syryn answered him, "from the part where we were at the bar. Artemus has a right to know how drunk we were when we met the tentacled ghost."

The anti mage angled his head and frowned as if attempting to make sense of what Syryn had just said.

"Okay, so last night, Syryn and I were out drinkin' and we decided to swing by the Rum district for a quick top-up of food."

That wasn't the truth but Syryn let the mage say whatever he wanted.

"And waddya know? We were waylaid by a shadowy figure askin' for help. I could tell that it wasn't a human because the thing wasn't movin' at all. And I had the strangest notion that its voice was speaking directly inside my head, which it was by the way." Sebastian tapped his temple and recalled the sensation of it. It was the first thing that had clued the mage in on the abnormality of their attacker.

Syryn's eyes sprung open with realisation. That was exactly what had been bothering him about the creature's voice. It was unnaturally clear - like glass without a single imperfection. And he had been hearing it inside his head! The fact that Sebastian caught that under the influence of so much alcohol - the alchemist wondered again if Sebastian's drunkenness had just been an act. If he hadn't seen the mage throwback several mugs of hard liquor, Syryn would have been hard-pressed to believe that Sebastian had indeed been intoxicated.

Artemus now appeared invested in the mage's tale if his focused gaze was anything to go by. "Syryn, is Sebastian's recollection so far in line with your own experience?" For a brief moment, two pairs of eyes were on him.

"Yes, I could tell back then that something was bothering me about the voice." He looked at the sandy-haired mage with begrudging respect, "and until Sebastian clarified it for me, I was still unaware as to why the voice seemed odd."

The anti mage nodded and turned back to Sebastian as if asking him to continue. After all the unfriendly looks that had been exchanged between them, it was refreshing to see that professionalism was prioritised by both parties when it came down to business.

"I walked over to the dark figure and just for a moment, I saw somethin' behind it. Sometimes, your instincts just know when yer about to get hurt real bad. I reacted immediately with aggression because predators don't expect their prey to go on offence when they should be runnin' right? I took down the shadowy figure and chased after the entity that had been waitin' ta jump at me."

"You took it down how?" Artemus had by this point taken out a quill and a blank sheet of parchment. Syryn knew that the anti mage had excellent memory that clamped down on information like steel traps. He figured that the anti mage was making a witness statement that would be handed over to those responsible for the investigation.

"I used a minor explosion spell."

Artemus scribbled on his parchment, "Describe the condition of the shadowy figure after it exploded."

Sebastian continued to narrate the events that took place after that, and when he reached the part where it went through the wall, Artemus' quill stopped scratching. The quiet that it left felt like a finger pointing accusingly at the mage.

"It went through the wall?" Disbelief coloured his question.

"And it looked like a squid. I saw its form right before it did the wall trick." Sebastian seemed to be in a hurry to get over that part of his story.

The anti mage placed the writing items on his lap and studied Sebastian with an appraising gaze. The seconds crawled into a minute and Syryn was convinced that Artemus would roll his parchment into a ball then fling it out of the carriage with the mage.

"A squid," he spoke again after a moment of silence. "Sebastian, can I at least assume that you'd had a dose of Untox before seeing the squid? Because if you're telling me that you were still intoxicated when you saw it, I'll have you know that your version of the events is not admissable as reliable eyewitness testimony."

It was just as they'd expected so the mage shrugged at the unimpressed Artemus. "Had the Untox in my pocket. Didn't take one though."

"I believe Sebastian's story," Syryn offered. "After he started attacking the thing, Sebastian seemed very sober. I can tell the difference between a drunk man and a clear-headed individual."

"And did YOU take an Untox, Syryn? Or were you making these observations under the influence of alcohol? How many drinks did each of you consume last night?" Dark eyes were assessing them both with unnerving sharpness.

"I can drink an entire barrel of Demon's Kiss and it'll all be gone from my system within half an hour." Syryn raised his brows at Artemus willing for the anti mage to understand what his demonic metabolism was capable of.

The anti mage made no reply after staring at Syryn with what looked like a mother's judgemental glare. How do you know that? Did you drink an entire barrel of liquor? Were the thoughts that Syryn figured were running in Artemus' head.

To the teen's relief, the anti mage turned back to Sebastian. "I want to believe you. There are some unexplainable circumstances surrounding these deaths and the higher-ups are pressuring for an answer."

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Artemus then looked back down at the written lines that had been paused mid-sentence. "But eyewitness identification is vulnerable to distortion. Humans are naturally biased. We notice and exaggerate some experiences while we minimize or overlook others."

"What do ya think I gain by lyin' and makin' shit up, Artemus?"

"I didn't say you were lying or making shit up," the anti mage shot back calmly. "As absurd as it sounds, I am willing to accept that something strange happened with the two of you last night. However, you were intoxicated, and that minor detail throws out any credibility you have as an eyewitness."

"An eyewitness? As in one eyewitness? So you're willin' to believe S'ryn over here but not me?" Sebastian didn't look as agitated as he sounded. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Artemus was conducting a civil conversation with him.

"I didn't say that either."

"Can I just finish my story so we can get this over with? You still have to hold up your end of the bargain, Artemus."

"Of course."

Sebastian narrated the rest of it to the anti mage who began writing again. He listened intently and asked questions despite what he had said about their unreliability as eyewitnesses.

"And the black liquid was gone, you say? Like it was never there? like nothing had happened?" The narrowed eyes, his flat expression, and the unimpressed tone did it for Syryn. The younger mage snorted.

"We'll sort this out ourselves since the mage hunters won't accept the testimonies of drunk people. Why don't you tell us what happened this morning then, mu-mu?" Syryn had taken to calling him by the nickname Luci had coined, just because it annoyed Artemus.

"I told you never to call me that."

"But you let Luci call you that!"

"And he's 11 years old, Syryn. Have we stooped to comparing ourselves with children?" Syryn was not winning this one.

"Can you just get to what happened this mornin'?" Sebastian cut in with impatience. The mage had a feeling it was a juicy piece of news because Artemus wasn't usually one to get rattled so easily. The anti mage had been a bundle of nerves and barely restrained fury when he had darkened Sebastian's door in the morning.

Syryn crossed his feet and reclined against the soft material of the seat, ready for some interesting developments. They were already halfway across the distance that separated Sebastian's home from Syryn's. He was certain that if they reached home before Artemus could begin his account, the anti mage would just dump them and leave without giving anything up.

"There was an incident. We received reports of it early this morning but the inquester at the site believes that the disturbance took place approximately twenty to twenty three hours ago."

He had said inquester. Both mages understood now that dead bodies were involved.

"A few guards doing their morning rounds found a caravan that had stopped to set up camp next to the traveller's road. When the guards entered the campsite, they saw that it was completely deserted. They checked the tents but those too were empty. The guards were spooked and it wasn't just because they couldn't find anyone. They saw abandoned plates and bowls of food strewn around, left untouched like the travellers had escaped in a hurry from something. We're talking about well-armed people whose items indicated their ability to defend themselves."

"Where did this happen again?" Sebastian asked.

"East of Lady May's peak. That's just about a day's travel from Elysium. A messenger bird was immediately dispatched with news about the missing travellers. The guards then began exploring the area looking for any signs of the people but when they found them, they got more than they had bargained for. 16 dead bodies in total were found."

Sebastian grimaced but he knew there was more to it. Artemus was a mage hunter and had seen more dead bodies than a cemetery. "Don't skip the details, A-mu."

The nickname caught both of them off guard and Artemus glared at the mage. "You do not have clearance to hear about the details."

"Fer cryin' out loud, if those guards haven't already blabbered about it to their friends and families then I'll change my surname to yours. Just tell us so Syryn and I don't have to travel to the drinkin" den closest to Lady May's peak."

Artemus sighed and the mage knew he had won.

"Ten naked bodies were found hanging from the trees and they all bore evidence of unspeakable torture and mutilation." Syryn wondered just what type of curse would emerge at the site if left to its devices.

"The other six bodies were found scattered in different parts of the forest like they had been running away only to die during the escape. No particularly telling wounds were found on the bodies but they were decomposed beyond their natural rate. It was as if they'd died a week ago." Artemus' face was set in grim lines. The incident was as horrifying as it was puzzling.

"Perhaps the guards had just stumbled upon different crime scenes and assumed they were all perpetrated by the same killers?" Syryn suggested.

"Maybe. We'll know once they identify the travellers. There's still one thing that ties both scenes to each other. Carrion birds should have already been on a feeding frenzy but it wasn't the case. Not a single bird nor bug was found feeding on the corpses. I'm no expert on scavenger behaviour but even I know that it's abnormal and unnatural."

Syryn could think of a few reasons why carrion eaters would avoid a dead body but he wanted to wait for more details on the bodies before he could voice an opinion. He pitied the inquesters who would be burdened with cutting open the bloating corpses. It was never fun working with corpses that were more than a day old.

"Is there any way that I can assist with the investigation?" Syryn asked. If he was being honest, it wasn't that Syryn was doing it out of goodwill or a desire to see justice. The alchemist wanted to satiate his curiosity and scratch the itch that had appeared when carrion birds were mentioned.

"I'll see what can be done. Don't raise your hopes though. You're an uncertified alchemist at best and a quack at worst." The amused smile hanging onto the anti mage's lips lessened the blow that he had thrown at Syryn. "Don't forget, you also have to help him find an absconding glowing squid."

The him that Artemus spoke about was entrenched in his ruminations. Sebastian had travelled extensively, faced countless terrors, monsters, and situations that would have made a grown man cry in fear. What he hated most was the unseen monster that disappeared so neatly after killing. Sebastian needed a body to aim at, to direct his magic towards, to obliterate into blood and meat, but both the incidents were carried out by perpetrators that were slippery.

"Thanks for the ride," Syryn told the anti mage after dis-embarking at the manor gate. "Will you be visiting the crime scene?"

"Yes. My colleagues are already on their way there to secure the area. I'll be leaving soon as well. Take care of yourself Syryn."

"What about your potion? It'll be ready in two days."

"I'll come for it myself. I still have the other palliative potions you gave me so I'll be fine for now."

"Alright. See ya mu-mu."

The door slammed shut in Syryn's face. A cloud of dust was kicked up as the hounds took off faster than they'd ever had. The alchemist's smile faded and he wondered just what had happened this time around? In his previous life, Syryn had lived the life of a sheltered demon, unaware of what was happening in the world. But surely, Traxdart would have told him if there was a glowing squid-like creature found to be snatching mages off the streets? It would have made the news everywhere. Maybe it had hadn't been caught in his old timeline, maybe the squid had been kept a secret, maybe Sebastian had just seen wrong.

"S'ryn, let's get inside." The mage was already heading towards the manor.

Syryn had to go back to Rum district. He had to find the creature and kill it. It seemed the only way to calm the restlessness that stemmed from his coming face to face with an anomaly that shouldn't have existed.

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