Chapter 321: Circling the dead
It was quiet in the room as Rindiri waited for Scander to look up from the report he was reading. Rindiri had expected Castibal to start complaining as soon as they returned and came up with a lot of rebuttals, but it hadn't been needed. The annoying guy had simply handed Scander a paper, told him they were done now, and left.
"So… an unknown species," Scander muttered as he looked up. "We actually saw that Currant Hunter return with his tail between his legs. It's good to hear they got in over their head, and if those-" he glanced back at the paper. "-bue hairs… We are sure they weren't Yuurindi?"
"Definitely," Rindiri said. "There's no way Youritz would not recognize one of his own."
Scander nodded and looked at the paper again before putting it to the side. Rindiri wished she knew what was on it and if Castibal had detailed her desire to head in.
"While you were gone, we found out a bit more about who they are working with… or for.. Do you know the Holy Shadow Inn?"
Rindiri snorted. "Who hasn't? It's those weirdos who believe that shadow walkers are superior to any other carded. The lesser-known rumors are that they are a small branch of the number one assassin guild."
"Exactly, and the last part isn't just a rumor," Scander said, tapping on a stack of books on the side of his desk. "I did some digging, and the odd thing is, I could find a reference to them going back to the creation of Dimarintsia. Beyond that, it's hard to find more than references, but I did manage to get something that, apparently, not even those Librarians had. These are historical romance novels stolen from the collection of the Baroness De Loarante. Apparently, they are one of a kind. Now, before you ask, no, I haven't gone crazy."
Rindiri raised her eyebrow. She didn't for a moment believe Scander was crazy, but she was starting to wonder where this was going.
"I found out that the name of this obscure author was a pseudonym. The woman who wrote these was also a renowned historian whose specialty was the finding and building of the Langost Branch. I found her name while I was digging through some more recent history to try and figure out who owned that inn."
Rindiri looked at him, trying to keep up. "Alright, and how did you figure out she also wrote romance novels under a pseudonym?"
"Baroness De Loarante has been interested in what she calls 'the lesser known species', and those who explore the outer leaves," Scanders said, smirking. "I've known her for a while, and she has been helpful in the past."
Rindiri held back from shaking her head wearily. It was an open secret that Scander enjoyed dallying with many other species. "Alright, this is all well and good, but why is this so interesting?"