The Drake of Craumont

"I don't look weird, do I? Ah, I can see you smirking." Lena adjusts her muffler hat for what must be the hundredth time in thirty minutes, tugging at the cloth socks over her ears.

"You are dressed appropriately and you are not disrupting the peace," Ruby counters from somewhere behind me. "It is likely they are staring at Ivy. This sandwich is excellent."

“I think she was more worried about me than the crowd, Ruby,” I shrug, toasting in her direction with a mostly-finished sandwich. A quick bite turns it into a entirely-finished sandwich, and I take a moment to chew thoughtfully under Lena’s gaze.

“I see.”

Lena mumbles something under her breath, and I do my best to not hear it. Bit hard, but not impossible. Still, I pause for a moment, because Lena deserves a proper answer, not just a vague assurance.

My tail ticks, taps, and clacks along the cobbled stone, sending pleasant vibrations up my spine. It's a good counter to the clatter and chatter of Craumont's main streets, grounding me against the gossip I can hear on countless lips without blocking them out. I do need to hear it for Lena’s answer, after all.

Some of it is about me. About us. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. So, yes, they're probably staring at me more than Lena. I’m a lot to look at, after all.

Some of it's about a summit in Caliburn, though, which isn't exactly related. Hopefully that'll be the end of the wars going on down there, secessions and all, but… bah, I don't know enough about it. I'll have to ask Lizzie sometime. She’s always up to date with politics. I just get paid to fix Delves.

And no, I'm not smiling, that'd be mean. Just showing a bit of fang, splitting the noontime crowds for a still-eating Ruby and an apparently anxious Lena. The faster we get to the Rectory, the faster we can get answers. And the faster we get to the Rectory, the faster we can get out, because Gods why does everything come back to my least favorite organization. Why couldn’t it have been the Church of Elluvial?

I do spare a glare down an alley, though, when my gut tells me someone is staring. Restoration members in their usual purple robes, being irritating as usual. Not a surprise, I suppose.

"You’re not weird, and I’m not smiling in the bad way," I shrug, waving my tail along with the motion. "And there's nothing wrong with a muffler cap. Let's cross the street here."

"Y-yes, but there weren't as many—" Lena starts and stops, weaving through the scattered crowd with me. Gods, I can smell the Sharrow bakery from here, and that's dangerously tempting. I drag myself back to my task, drawing up a map of Craumont in my head. Let's see…

"There weren't as many people, Ivy! It was, ah. Easier to not think about." Lena pauses, fidgeting with her cap once more. "Is this what it's like?"

"It?" I frown, pointing at our path forward. "Down the next alley and through the park, I think."

"No. Follow the main road," Ruby counters through a mouthful of sandwich. "Detective Tracer's investigation would prevent passage."

That's one way to mention an investigation, I suppose, and it takes me a moment to find the path of my thoughts again. "Main road, then. Lena, what did you—"

"Oh! An investigation?" Lena blurts, ears perking up. She turns to look behind, then clearly thinks better of it and keeps her eyes on the street ahead. "What's it about? Um, if you can tell us, I mean. Sorry, Ivy."

"Eh, I wanted to ask too," I say with a shrug, catching a glimpse of the bakery out of the corner of my eye. I drag my gaze away before I can really see anything, or worse, see something tasty.

…I'll have to get something on the way back. Maybe several things, like a jam pastry or three.

Ruby hums, and it's hard to entirely tune out the sound of her chewing. "Detective Tracer is investigating reports of disappearances."

"Really? Oh, Restoration, um, I think I'd heard about—" Lena stops, shaking her head and scrunching her nose. "I only heard of one, though. Ah, how many are there?"

"Information critical to the investigation cannot be disclosed in public," Ruby replies blandly, "Nor in public spaces."

Huh. More than I expected she'd say, honestly. My tail thumps against the ground, clattering against the cobbled stone.

"Oh. Sorry." I can already imagine Lena's expression, and a quick glance confirms it: flush cheeks, furrowed brow, slight pout. As I watch, though, her eyes widen and her mouth opens. "Wait, if it's secret like that…"

Then it must be serious. Thankfully, she trails off before she can finish her thought— not that she needs to.

Oh, there's our turn. The conversation pauses as we weave through the crowd, dodging a particularly hasty carriage along the way.

I keep an eye on Lena the whole way— she's nervous, I can tell, but there's no sign of the jitters and twitches that had marked her first days with her new ears.

"Everything alright, Lena?" I murmur, quieter than any normal human could hear. My heart shoves a few more words out of me: "New senses can be hard."

Lena's ears turn and her stride lurches. "Ah," she mumbles back, dropping her voice to a whisper. "It's. It's strange, but I'm getting used to it. Thank you, Ivy."

"I know how it feels," I answer softly, and there's a strange tinge to my words I can't quite place.

Shaking my head, I drag my tail across the cobbled stones in a shallow arc.

"So, Ruby. What's the plan?" I say loudly, clearing my throat. "We can go through Dongbaek's stuff, sure, but what are we looking for?"

"I will finish eating my sandwich," Ruby says instantly. "Once that is complete, we will look for—"

---

"Anything and everything that might inform our investigation," Ruby concludes, this time to Alain and a gathering of Church members. "His rooms, his office, and any other location wherein he may have kept his possessions."

There's a pause, unsurprisingly.

We stand there, the three of us at the Rectory's door and the Church members gathered around a handful of tables. Alain stands at the forefront, arms crossed and chin tilted up— hard to be intimidating, though, wearing the damned purple robe, and peeling my lips back into a smile wilts away what menace remains. The faint smells of ink and parchment linger in the air, just sharp enough to prickle at my nose.

Alain sighs, sucking a breath in through clenched teeth. "Must you bring her every time? I know she was needed for the interrogations, but I assumed she wasn't coming along for the rest. Services rendered do not counteract her…"

He waves vaguely at me, and I nod rather specifically back. He scowls, continuing, "Well, I shouldn't have to elaborate on what stance the reptile has."

That draws a reaction. Several raised heartbeats, Lena breathing in sharply—

"Alain!" Lena snaps, stomping forward. Her ears flatten against her cap, and her hands curl into fists. "You can't just, just, call her that!"

Alain's scowl twists. "If she was incensed by it, I'd be a splatter on the wall. I won't hide my distaste for her."

You know what? Yeah, fair enough. I shrug, then remember Lena and Ruby are both in front of me and can't see it. "Not stealing anything or attacking anyone at the Rectory, Alain, I just want Dongbaek caught."

And killed, something dark hisses.

"But you still can't call her that, Alain," Lena insists, her voice rising. "Treat those around us with kindness, and, um, and never in disdain. Every sermon."

There's not quite a word for what Alain's doing, but my best description is wilting. It’s a moment I will etch into memory and savor the next time I have to think about this idiot.

Ruby calls the conversation back to the path with a cough. "Ivy is the strongest Mage—"

My tail twitches, nearly touching the carpet. I'm a mediocre Mage at best, my skills lie in Delving! Bah.

"—within Craumont's borders. She provides essential information and protection."

"But…" Someone behind Alain speaks up, one of the many purple-robed Church members. "Why Lena, then, and where's the paladin? And, hi Lena, we've missed you at sewing Service."

"Hi, James! Sorry about that, it's been…" Lena trails off, one ear going up and the other staying flat. "Um. I was stuck in a. I was in bed for a few days, and then the ears, and. It's been hard."

Ruby tilts her head. "Miss Harkness is present in the event we interact with members of the Church, such as yourself. Chief Flint also recommended a member of the Church be seen as part of this investigation, as discussed during the meeting this morning."

"I was there, yes, and she did mention that you would bring protection. I suppose I should have known, then," Alain pinches the bridge of his nose, brow furrowed. "Keeps us from looking worse than we already do... at least you didn't bring the paladin along. Theological debates give me a migraine, so I shall have to thank the Restoration for small mercies."

"It would be Adamantine, technically," I counter, raising a claw and hiding a smile. As expected, Alain twitches, visibly biting back a retort. "And she's still supposed to be on bedrest until next week."

Not that she's been listening to that, mind, but she's at least taking it easy.

"And paladins answer no grace other than their God's, Adamantine's most of all, yes, yes," Alain huffs, waving me off. "Before you speak, detective, yes, you may go. I've left everything up there untouched, save for the paperwork he failed to complete before he revealed himself a traitor."

The room flinches at that— more wildflower-purple robes than I care to count, with more expressions than I'll bother to drink in. Gods, it's been a miserable month for them, hasn't it? And yet, that sweet draught leaves a bitter taste on my tongue.

Lena flinched too. The Church is her family, after all.

"Good," Ruby bobs her head, and she begins walking immediately. "Ivy, Miss Harkness, it is time to go."

Well, that's an easy way out of this. I follow right after her, glancing over my shoulder to keep an eye on Lena. She smiles at me, shifting in place and bringing her hands together.

"Um, I need to catch up with everyone here," She says, speeding up as she goes. Her ears flick back, twisting inside the muffler cap's ear-pouches. "It's been a while, and… ah. See you later?"

She offers me a shy smile, one that glitters in her eyes.

My tail curls around my legs, and I feel my lips twisting into a soft smile. "See you later."

With that, I turn around to chase after Ruby, who is now standing with crossed arms at the other end of the hall.

Goddess, when had Lena started doing that to me?

***

Here is a man laid bare, not in flesh but in thought. The books by his bed, the tapestry on his wall, the tools on his desk; a thousand little things that trace his shape. An outline of a traitor with a black-glass knife, a man who betrayed his Church, his city, and his God.

And in those details we will find answers. In answers, Goddess permitting, we will find him. I will break him with my own two claws and shatter the black-glass knife that makes the World bleed.

"Where are your secrets, I wonder…" I murmur, sweeping my eyes across the room once more.

A tall wardrobe and broad vanity desk dominate the far wall— simple things, solidly made and scratched with years of stories and use. The vanity, now that I look closer, has a small basin with soap and a toothbrush set next to a tall metal jug. It's all far tidier than I can ever keep things, honestly, save for the clusters of candles on either side.

And then, against the left wall, a desk and a tapestry. The desk is scratched and dinged, decorated in loose parchment and littered with tools I don't quite recognize. Ruby, of course, goes right over to peer at them. There's also a backless chair, perhaps for that tail he hid for years? Maybe, maybe not. I'm not a detective.

Finally, the bed. Nothing terribly fancy, either, with blankets the same wildflower purple as the robes… More places where my family's stolen wealth could have been used, but wasn't. There's several books I recognize by his bedside, though, including A History of the Solar Empire vol 9. The corrected version, no less— I didn't even know the Historian Guild had issued one. Guess I'll have to get the Manor's copy replaced.

Focus, Ivy. What does this mean? Where is the shape, the outline, the truth?

Ruby's already rifling through the books on the desk. I step over to Dongbaek's bedside table, gingerly picking one up and…

…And what?

"What're we doing, Ruby?" I say, then pause. "What am I doing?"

"Looking for answers," Ruby intones, pausing in her search. She reaches up, tidying her mess of curly black hair. "Anything. A ledger. Evidence of hobbies. Notes, schedules, discarded letters."

"Things that might lead us to people or places?" I guess, flipping through Records of a Falling Sun. "He's got two books about the Empire on his bedside table."

Ruby pulls out her own paper and scribbles on it, nodding. "Historical or fictional accounts?"

"One is a history book, the other is a…" I squint at the book, not that I'm having any trouble seeing the words. "History books don't have sex scenes, I think. Fictional."

Goddess, give me strength. Can people really bend like that? Is this really what Dongbaek reads in his free time?

"I see," Ruby hums. "And the other books?"

I shake my head free of the disquieting visions, snapping the book closed and dropping it back where I found it. Next book— "Sermons of the Restoration," I recite, setting the book back down. "No surprises there."

"Some here," Ruby murmurs, turning one of the tools over in her hand. "Dark wooden handle, metal tip. Steel, from the color. Flared base, narrows to half-cylinder with a— ah!"

She breathes in sharply, jerking her hand back. I'm there in three steps, peering over her as she sucks her finger.

"Sharp tip," Ruby grouses, pulling her finger out of her mouth. "Ow."

I reach down and grab a similar tool from the desk. A tingle of memory works its way up my tail, curling it around my feet.

"Looks… familiar." Feels it, even. I turn it over in my hands, careful to not scratch it with my palm-scales. "Uncle Irving had a tool just like this. I think it's for carving stamps."

"Irving being Lord Irving Craumont." Ruby guesses, shaking her wounded hand. The stamp-carver goes back on the desk, with mine following soon after. "I see."

Without another word, Ruby ducks down, peering at the floor beneath the desk. "Evaluate the wardrobe next."

My tail twitches at the order, but I bite back the inevitable bubble of irritation. She's the detective, after all, and it's hardly some grand risk to open a wardrobe.

And so the search goes, really. We rifle our way through a man's private possessions, peeking under tables, poking at papers, and peering at every little oddity.

All I find of note is clothes with tail holes— guess he didn't dismiss it all the time, then.

There's also several salacious books in the drawers of his vanity, but those aren't notable, just... steamy. Poking through someone's private things is unsurprisingly uncomfortable.

"Ah, have you found anything? Hi, Ivy."

A familiar voice, the soft creak of an opened door— Lena's the one to break the quiet. She stands at the door with her muffler hat clutched in her hands, unleashing her mess of curly hair… and, of course, her new ears, poking out from the top of her head. They share the reddish-brown of her hair, save for the white fur lining the interiors; as best we could guess, they're fox ears, making her a Fox Mageblood.

Her ears twitch as I watch, and a tiny smile graces her features when our eyes meet.

Have we found anything, though? My tail swishes through the air as I think, mimicking the slithering of a snake.

"What do you see, Ruby?" I say, throwing my hands up. "I just see a priest. Nothing about where he went."

Ruby tilts her head, eyes gleaming and lips pursed. "I also see a priest."

My tail drops to the floor with a thump, and I raise an eyebrow.

Ruby at least has the sense to look apologetic, but I suppose I can't fault her desire for theatre. "With hobbies, to clarify. History, when our subject is attacking Imperial wards."

She lifts up one of the stamp cutters by the back of the handle, showing it to the room. "Stamp cutters, for detailing stamps. I will ask for your examination, but I do not see any stamp material. I see a well-made bed. Possibly unused, at least the night before capture."

Ruby frowns, setting the cutter down carefully. "It is possible he cleaned, but finding none at all? Dongbaek cut something here, but it was not stamps. Wear marks on the handles indicate frequent use. Then, the clothes."

"The clothes?" Lena asks, tilting her head. She steps into the room, coming to stand next to me.

"Yes. As Ivy identified…" Ruby strides across the room, pulling open the wardrobe and tugging a pair of trousers off the hook. She fiddles with the waistline a bit, then sticks a pair of fingers through a hole on the back. "There are tail holes. Active and significant usage of magic precludes concealing of significant Mageblood traits, so it is likely he wore these when opening Delves."

"So he wore pants when opening Delves," I repeat, crossing my arms. "And he had hobbies. You're going somewhere with this."

Ruby nods, putting the trousers back on their hanger. "Correct."

Lena shuffles in place, her hand brushing my side. "I really didn't… um. I really didn't know a-anything about him, did I?"

My tail drops, curling around Lena's feet. If there are words to comfort her, they aren't ones I can figure out— but Gods, do I want to help her.

"Few did, but this room has revealed additional details." Ruby nods at Lena, stepping from the wardrobe to the vanity. She looks at us through the mirror, running her hands along the wooden surface.

"More wax splatter," she declares, lifting one hand to pluck the toothbrush from its cup. "Bent bristles indicating use. Miss Harkness, did Bitgarm Dongbaek possess a lantern or magical source of light?"

"Um… y-yes, detective. H-he had a brass firelamp, actually." Lena's brow furrows. "But then, why—"

"Why candles?" The Ruby in the mirror's brow furrows, and she drops the toothbrush back into the cup. "Wax is a soft material. I propose that he was carving it, no motive as of yet…"

Mirror Ruby turns away, and Ruby herself stares straight through us. "History, wax carving, clothes for a Mageblood not in hiding. Brushed his teeth here, so he did use this room, but not the night before we identified him as the culprit. It is obvious he had time for hobbies, but we are missing something important. Suggestions?"

Lena exhales sharply, but words never form. For me, though, they come easily, fitting into painting Ruby's speculations composed.

"Sounds like he was sleeping somewhere else. Might've done so regularly," I muse, brushing Lena's legs with my tail once before pulling away. "He's got followers, too, so it makes sense that there's a hideout."

"Or he simply made his bed. I agree with your theory, but more evidence is required," Ruby says with a frown, voice perfectly flat. She crosses the room, eyes sweeping across us. "What would point to a second residence, rather than a hideout formed following his removal from the Church? I would approach the investigation differently depending on which we believe is more likely."

No pressure, got it.

So we stand there, awkwardly, while questions stew. I listen to the heartbeats in the room, watch Lena's ears shift and flatten to match feelings I can't see.

What would help us find our hidden Mage?

…Mage. Aha!

Slipping past Lena, I kick the backless chair aside and look over Dongbaek's desk. Nothing that matters there, just… Church stuff. Notes, forms, theological diatribes.

"…Ivy?"

Then the drawers— one by one, yanked open, their contents dumped out to explore. Still nothing I care about, except for a piece of maple candy. That goes right into my mouth.

"It appears Ivy has an idea."

Yes, Ruby, I do.

My tail thumps against the rug, and the unpleasant sensation of lint between scales barely registers.

"Nothing!" I declare proudly, then turn to see one baffled expression and also Ruby. My cheeks warm, and I raise a hand to stall the remarks. "He's got nothing about magic anywhere. You’d need at least a reference for complex spells, and he definitely used one or two when I chased him."

"None at all? Well, he could have memorized them, but, I try and keep notes so I don’t mess the structures up." Lena's eyes widen, and she hurries over to the desk. "I mean, um, maybe they're hidden, but if he's going to hide them…"

Ruby clears her throat, dragging my focus back to her. "He had access to a passage that avoided the stairs, and exited near a side door. Risky, but plausible. As you say, if he's going to hide them, hiding them off-location makes the most sense. Somewhere he would have gone regularly, in all likelihood.”

She pauses, tilting her head, then starts marching toward the door. "But where did he go, I wonder? We shall have to ask more questions."

"Why indeed," I sigh, and move to follow.

A hand catches my own— gentle, careful, and more than enough to stop me in my tracks. Her thumb rolls over the scales in my palm.

Lena's crying.

Oh, Gods, she's crying.

I pull her into my arms without a heartbeat of hesitation, acting more on heart than mind. I let her nestle into me, her hands splayed across my back, and clear my throat. She'd hugged me when I needed it, why shouldn't I do the same for her?

"Ruby? We're going to need a few minutes."

It takes more than a few minutes, but that's okay.