What is in an illusion? (Eridanus)

[Bob Barton]

66th day of Winter 511 AV

It was something that would only be talked about in whispers just so you will not become the next victim but then again with quite a number of incidents cropping out just what are the chances of adding to the number? The illusion of safety and security was being tested again only a short while after the chaos when bodies started turning up after the sun rose again. For the men, they were brutally cut all over except strangely, the face as far as anyone could tell since it was ripped out leaving only muscle and bone behind. For the women it was just them being dead...like the passed on in bliss from the smile on their face. "And why are you telling me this?" Bob asked impatiently since he knew better than to walk around alone at night. That was why he brought Jinsen with him all the way from Sunberth. "Hahahaha! You want me to find out what is going on? Are you mad? I don't want to become the next victim so find someone stupid enough to do it for you" but since it was Bob himself who was stupid enough to follow the Alvadas government here, he did not have a choice. Bob despite his size was able to survive in a treacherous environment like Sunberth and is a good candidate to risk since he has no ties to the people who brought him along. Not to mention he has proven himself nothing but useless since the day he arrived.

This was probably a way for them to get something from their efforts. Whatever else they offered, Bob knew he had no choice and after a while he reluctantly agreed that "fine...I will try to find out what is going on but you can get your army of followers to do it. Those guys your boss sent to join us seem competent enough." For Bob to even start on anything he needed more information first. "Tell me where and when did these murders occur." but the official who he was talking with was already prepared and gave him a sheet to read from their records. "First murder was a man and the next was a woman with the pattern continuing on until now and the bodies turning up all over the place..." Bob could see why that is a problem but when he looked over another column which showed the place the victims were last seen he asked about those which were mostly not a blank of "why don't you just post more guards at the Wager and Rose?" That was actually the dilemma that they had. Given the ever changing nature of the streets of Alvadas the spots were just too consistent and they wanted to, or wanted Bob to find out how. Since the Wager was closely tied into Bob's own hobbies as well he agreed to in case he might end up dead next.

And Bob did not want to go in there alone. His steadfast protector Jinsen would not be able to do much either so "why don't you send some guards with me too? Then we might be able to stop one killing tonight" and protect Bob from this psychotic but there was no one in Mizahar who was not wise to Bob's cowardly self preservation instincts and definitely this woman was one of them just giving a smile and telling him that it would be better for him to go alone so that he can remain inconspicuous. "...What?" Bob asked but the woman did not want to reveal anymore telling him that time is precious and he will not get anything else by wasting more time here because it will only add to the risk of yet another victim. Given a copy of the sheet recording some of the facts already known, Bob was shown out the door with a reminder that he had to get to the Rose soon since it was going to get dark.

"Like I will go there now and risk becoming the next victim. Its dark and with my size he might mistake me as a woman" Bob told Jinsen as he was putting on its leash. "There would be another body sure...but at least I will be able to see an actual scene." Bob Barton, always the man thinking about the goal in the end no matter what sacrifices had to be made especially when it was not coming from himself. "Should I bring more weapons too Jinsen?" he asked while looking at his small collection. Bob always had his trusty canesword with him but then this time he knew that he was in danger so "I'll just bring whatever I want" grabbing his favorite weapons and hiding them all over his body. After that Bob led Jinsen out of the door to get to the next place according to the pattern which is "the Rose. Its the place with the nice..." Oh right, Bob was not allowed to bring Jinsen along when he goes there.

Alvadas seemed to be a little more...co-operative today? Maybe because it wanted to get rid of this pest as well. There were no signs when Bob was walking and why would there be any? They were of no use in the city of illusions but somehow he knew he was on the right track. Everytime the path was breaking off there will always be a route that he was familiar with, the first time walking straight through to the bizzare in the middle. After that a left turn and Bob was in front of "the Sun & Stars...I wonder if Victor can hide me for the night..." but then he would have to do it the next night or failing that the one after that so Bob plodded on. Jinsen who was with Bob most of the time in Alvadas did not fight against him like it normally did too, going through the familiar places and even stopping right in front of the Wager where it thought Bob wanted to be but the short man told it halfheartedly "not tonight Jinsen, we are going to the Rose"

As his dog which knew him so well, Jinsen took a sit on the streets looking at the building it knew its master would rather be in but Bob was in no mood for its games and walked forward until the weight of his dog started to pull him back. "Dammit Jinsen, lets go...now!" he said pulling hard on the leash to try and drag the dog along with him before yelling "I want to be done with this and go home to bed!" This dog has been more like a burdensome anchor more than once, this time most of all because all the commands that Bob had tried to teach it like "run, go, food, hunt, rabbit" could not get it to budge right until he had no choice but to lift the dog and carry him down the street telling it over and over right until they reached the end "if you don't listen to me next time this will happen again." Looking at the left, Bob saw it. "The Withering Rose Jinsen. Quick, lets go" right to the entrance. Now all Bob needed to do was find the happiest woman around which would be tough because that is what they all will feel after meeting him. He did not want to be the cause of the next victim after all.

His worries was unfounded because at the door they stopped him and reminded him that there are no dogs allowed. "But I have important business from..." nevermind. If he said who sent him then it might cause some panic. "Jinsen, sit. Stay. Good" and after the dog was parked at the door Bob took a step in only to realize that Jinsen was trying to follow then he issued the same commands again but it still did not work when the man out front stopped him. "Jinsen, go hunt something...like rats" which brought out the expected reaction of running but it happened too fast. The dog suddenly got to its feet and bolted towards the door and it was only with Bob who was wise up to its tricks which was able to stop it in time and grab it by the tail before it got through but it did not help him to gain access at all because the man pointed to the streets and told him not to return until he got rid of the dog. "Now see what you did" petching dog.

There was nothing else to do but scout the site. Bob took Jinsen with him and as always told it to "see if you can find anything interesting here" as they both went into the alley until Jinsen suddenly got very excited. Its nose touching in a scent which interested it a lot before it struggled and broke the leash free from Bob's grasp heading off into the darkness. "Wait Jinsen! Don't leave me alone!" Bob cried out a little bit afraid of what might happen before running off to follow the dog.

[Eridanus]

There seemed to be a spate of crime lately in Alvadas, and the Listeners have managed to gather enough information to group a series of seemingly unrelated crimes into a single category. The victims seemed random enough, an equal distribution of men and women, regardless of occupation, location, relationships, or what not. Yet, the modus operandi seemed similar in terms of the men's ripped out faces and the women's ecstatic expressions frozen cold in rigor mortis.

This was usually the jurisdiction of The Womiyu, the organization assigned by the Government to take care of things like this. However, his own department had their own reasons for suspecting a possible link to the mysterious illusions from the Underground, though it was more of a possibly mild link rather than a strong one. Thus, as a rookie he was dispatched to investigate and find out more about this case. If there was sufficient evidence to link it to the Underground, he was to report back and a more senior agent would be sent to finish this up. If he managed to sufficiently prove that this case was a mere crime and unrelated to the Underground, he was to stand down and allow the Womiyu to take over, and in that case the Department of Illusions would transfer all analytical results as a result of this incident to the Silencers.

Though it seemed pretty much a boring job that no other member wanted to do, there was still that glimmer of excitement and enthusiasm that came with doing something new. The Underground also proved to be dreary and tiring on the senses and one's sanity, and the opportunity to be able to do a mission back up in the normal city was a refreshing job. He could not imagine why no one else wanted the job, perhaps it was too mundane for them, or they were too used to the Underground that the normalcy of upstairs was too jarring to the veterans?

And so he was being lead by one of the Listeners that served as the Womiyu's liaison point with the Department of Illusion to maximize their investigative efforts. He had apparently found the latest body in this incident, but had not officially reported it to the main press, instead only letting his Listener superiors know, who had informed the DOI of this new development, resulting in his dispatch.

"Nasty thing, that killer. Wouldn't want to be the guy he targets," Ryjale commented conversationally. He was a merchant to everyone else, but due to his vast business connections the job of working as the Womiyu's eyes and ears was offered to him, and the opportunity to earn even more as well as to satisfy his patriotic sense sealed the deal.

"Who is it this time?"

"Some girl, same look. I can't quite grasp what in blazes the killer was doing. I'm no master, but I'm pretty good at what I do; and the wenches I banged never had an ecstatic look of that intensity on them. Maybe if we could interrogate the killer somehow..." The merchant trailed off.

Eridanus raised an eyebrow at the merchant, which prompted a sheepish shrug, and the two made their way through winding alleys in the darkness. The last of Syna's rays peeked through the cityscape, and it was only a matter of time before Eridanus' form changed. Fortunately he had already warned the Listener about it.

"When are you gonna do that er... shapeshifting act? It's dark soon, yes?"

"It will be when it will be," the vantha replied casually.

They arrived at a corner of the alley where a figure was propped up in a scandalizing posture, partially atop several boxes stacked up meticulously in order to fulfill an exact purpose. The smell was just beginning to get bad though the body seemed pretty fresh.

Eridanus strode forward and took a quick glance at her face to confirm the modus operandi. Ecstatic expression just as always.

"I'll leave you to it then, have a shop to close up," Ryjale said, eager to get away from this chilling scene.

The vantha raised his hand to signify the merchant's dismissal, and he walked in a circle around the victim closely, taking in as much information as his mind brought him back to the little data the Department was able to provide him with during the mission brief.

[Bob Barton]

The only way Bob was able to follow Jinsen into the darkness was because the alley was so narrow and there was nowhere else the dog, or he himself could get to. As much as he did not want to run into the dangers of an assailant there were other dangers that he needed to look out for over there, dangers that he could not possibly see on his own lacking the awesome eyesight only given to animals. That short period of time was stretched for far too long each time he felt something below his foot. Something hard, something soft, something slippery and something bouncy. It was a feat in itself how Bob controlled his own feet each time to avoid a fall. As soon as something felt out of the ordinary, Bob quickly leaped to the front to hopefully get a proper foothold on the ground or maybe to the side if the space permitted it when there was no trash or bins lying around just so he could catch his breath. It all worked fine except for one time during he took a great leap to the front and landed right on top of a banana peel. Bob skidded to the front in the darkness waving his arms all over to balance himself right until he grabbed hold of the wall to stop himself.

All fun and games until someone got hurt or he had to get serious. Lucky the first part did not happen or Bob would have to retire but when he heard Jinsen barking excitedly after finding scene, more because it saw Eridanus which it really came to love, Bob ran forward even quicker ignoring all the trivial dangers of the alley thinking that Jinsen was in an even bigger one. No one would ever know how Bob could trip over that animal with the bright white fur in that dark alley and when he did all he could say was "arrgh" as he fell to the ground. Then he said "arrgh!" again when he was able to take in the whole scene after he got up. First he saw the body since it was closer to the ground and then he saw the horned figure of the ethaefal partially obscured by the darkness the "bastard!" Bob held out his canesword fully prepared to defend himself from this criminal or run away when "Jinsen! Attack!" To his surprise the dog started to rub itself affectionately on his opponent's leg and only then Bob could see that it was "Eri?" before he continued on to exclaim "you bastard!" with his sword pointed right at him.

"What did you do this time?" he asked but there as no need to say anything since the answers to the question were all there. Eridanus...why would he be in the dark alley with a dead body unless "you're a murderer! I knew something was up with someone like you in Sunberth!" since everyone there had a taste for blood, coin or bloodied coin. Bob was further convinced when he started thinking back on the facts that he already knew, the murders only started recently. Too recently... Pushing the sword forward ever so slightly to make Eridanus realize that all those lives are just too much for their relationship to cover it up, he demanded an answer to "why? Do you have some sort of perverse tendencies?" like that necrophilia thing that the nuits like to joke about in Sahova Bob could never get? This was just a waste of womenfolk that have not gotten the Barton experience yet. It was a lot more important than the lesser "men I can understand even if I don't see why you peel off their faces" unless it was through jealousy since it will reduce the competitors that Bob had in Alvadas.

Eventually Eridanus would clear it up unless he wanted to get run through by a sword but Bob would still remain suspicious. At least he put away his sword when he said "fine...so I guess we are too late for this one?" and moved to the corpse to examine it himself. It was all so consistent, and freaky because "just how can she be so happy when she dies?" It was even more puzzling compared to how she died. Since this was the first time he actually saw a victim himself he decided to go over the things that his Uncle Marny taught him. While it was something learnt to examine living people to find out what was wrong with them, this should not hurt. "Warm..." Bob said when he checked the woman's forehead which should mean that this was really recent but her expression still creeped him out and forced him to shut her eyes. It was then that he felt it was "wet...?" There was only one thing which could be wet at the eyes and that was "tears?" he asked when he tasted the saltiness at his mouth. Very...very strange. But he continued on with his examination randomly poking at the neck and wrist to find the obvious fact that there was "no pulse."

If Bob was trying to look good he was not doing a good job of it. At least that was the basic stuff taken care of that Bob could remember and then it was time to get to the more simpler things that Bob did not mind because the body always made him remember those torturous lessons from his uncle. Quickly before Eridanus could comment on his uselessness, Bob went through the woman's belongings pocketing the nice things that he could find in the guise of "evidence. At least we now know it was not a robbery." With the way she was dressed up with that beautiful dress and accessories to match it could even be a date? But Bob was already doing all the work so he told Eridanus to make himself useful instead of standing around doing his Eridanusy things because "maybe you can find something that I missed?" while...Bob examines the scene. After feeling the victim's body temperature Bob really wanted to find a hiding place in the alley because the murderer might still be around. No Bob did not want to find the murderer who might be hiding but he did want to find a place where he can hide himself and Jinsen if possible. That way, when Eridanus is fighting he can just disappear until it was safe.

[Eridanus]

There was a shout, and the ethaefal looked up sharply, his hands straying towards his robes. This was a dark and closed in alley where his long swords would be useless but the assassin's dagger he had hidden in his clothes would still be useful. Was the murderer returning to the scene again?

There was another shout of surprise, and this time a furry little thing came bounding up from the direction of the shout, rubbing itself against his leg.

"What in the... Jinsen!" Eridanus exclaimed, and it did not take a genius to figure out that wherever this dog was its midget owner was as well.

"Bob!" He said in surprise, and he raised his brow when the midget drew his cane sword, pointing it to the ethaefal while making paranoid accusations.

The ethaefal sighed and rubbed his temples. It was too early for these kind of things to happen. He could not explain the DOI's involvement, of course, for to the regular citizen the DOI did not exist. Instead, he told most of the truth, putting himself in Ryjale's place instead.

"I was taking a short-cut back to my rooms actually, and I kind of stumbled on this. Dreadful, isn't it?" It did not matter whether Bob really believed him or not, but from the wary way the midget shelved his sword meant at least an element of belief.

Bob began to poke around as if he were some private detective, which brought the ethaefal's suspicion to the midget. If one were to suddenly stumble on a dead body one would not be so quick to investigate. Clearly, the midget had expected to find the body and was - to some extent - privy to some of the details of the case.

Were the Listeners really so desperate for manpower as to assign a civilian to the case? The DOI was clearly on the case, but it seemed that the Womiyu did not quite trust the capabilities of the DOI.

Bloody jurisdiction matters.

Politics at work probably, but it was not in his interest to poke around in this. He was merely a pawn, a soldier in the complex cogs of machinery that was the organization and government in Alvadas.

Bob began to pocket the woman's belongings, and the ethaefal stopped him. He knew the guy's penchant for pilfering things, and there might be some evidence where it could be further analyzed by the DOI's auristics team. Instead, he took out a clean box meant for keeping evidence that the department handed to him during the mission briefing and put what the victim had into the box, tucking it securely into the small travel bag he had attached to his waist. After analysis by the team they would return her belongings to her family or relatives, if she had any.

He was aware that this action made his story even more unlikely, but he knew that Bob would probably not question him if he were to question Bob on the same thing, for if the midget had indeed been hired by the Womiyu to investigate this matter he would likely not want to reveal this as well. It was an arrangement that would befit the secrecy required from both of them.

He looked at the body, and as Bob continued his own investigations the ethaefal slowly tapped into the raw astral energy within his body. His body was like a well, and his djed the pool of water within. Drawing up a little to consume, he opened his eyes to the true reality of the world, seeing through his mortal senses and tapping into his magical sight.

The corpse gave off a weak aura, but the fact that it had more djed than an inanimate object meant that it was most definitely fresh. Djed was the life energy of a sentient being, and when one's soul escaped back to Lhex some remnants of the astral body would remain with the physical shell, slowly decaying to the environment as time passed on. From what he gathered from the Auristics Forensic files in the DOI library the amount of remnant djed in her corpse meant she was still alive at the most two bells ago.

This meant that the killer might just be nearby, for the deed to have been done so quickly.

This also meant that there was fresh evidence around waiting to be uncovered.

Shutting down his magical sight for the time being, he conveyed what he knew to Bob, and asked the midget for anything else he found out. After which, he planned to check the walls and ground around the area for any signs of foot prints or signs of someone else besides the woman who had been here. He would use his auristics to check the time-stamp of the foot prints or signs on the wall and compare it to any made by the woman.

[Bob Barton]

The both of them came from Sunberth and with all they have witnessed this could hardly be considered as dreadful anymore. What was more dreadful was the way Eridanus was trying to stop Bob from getting his prize. That was one of the worst things that could happen to anyone, anywhere and now it was happening to Bob. Like the ethaefal, Bob was beginning to get suspicious only because Eridanus suddenly produced a box suitable for keeping the evidence which he still managed to ask "what is that for?" Bob actually did not care to keep things a secret about his involvement because it was not really a choice he was given and continued to ask "are you really on your way back?" Eridanus should know better than to go through an alley if Sunberth was still fresh in his mind because everything bad happened there, to Bob anyway. Bob waited for a while for the answer while looking at the box which wanted what was in his pockets before relenting with the promise that "we are not done"

But while he was trying to buy his time, Bob was already feeling through his pockets trying to recall everything that he had taken earlier and choosing the more valuable looking one of all. Bob had no great knowledge on accessories and the like but the shinier was always the better and he chose the shiniest one he knew of keeping its shape in his mind. To avoid it being in his hands while he emptied the less shiny ones into that thieving box. "Happy now?" Bob was because he managed to keep his prize. There was nothing that Eridanus could do about that because Bob would never allow the ethaefal to touch him so he had to just take his word like "opps...I think I might have mixed her mizas with mine. Silly me." To try and silence Eridanus about it in case he might blurt it out to especially to those scary government people "I'll give you a cut if you'll stop complaining." How much would that be exactly? Bob did not have a clue because he did not want to look more suspicious by counting the mizas outright like his normal practice if this was Sunberth as he was collecting them but hopefully it would be enough.

He just stared with disbelief when Eridanus told him that the corpse was only a few bells old because "I just told you that!" Was Bob really that incompetent to his friends? This was something that he learned as a child from his...Eridanus might be right then since Bob might have forgotten some important bits with time. Bob was already getting pretty annoyed with Eridanus and went on with his business, grabbing Jinsen by the collar and bringing it close to the woman. "No you are not supposed to eat her" he said while he brought its nose close "but I want you to get a good whiff" like Bob was as he took in deep breaths. Eww. He thought that a nice restaurant would have better smelling trash than that. Maybe if he had his sword in his hands. Once he saw Jinsen doing the same he asked "you got it? Now go see if you can find her somewhere else" when Bob started taking Jinsen all around the alley asking "is that her?" but there was nothing. Normally Jinsen would start making for similar scents as soon as it committed it to memory.

Instead all it found was leftovers that it wanted to eat but "unless you do your work you ain't getting any!" Bob was not going to let his dog enjoy while he does all the work. After another round he finally told Eridanus "nothing. Maybe I'm going about it wrong" but the woman was the only lead they had. "It'll be better if we had the killer's scent" for Jinsen to use. "Fine, go have your reward Jinsen" Bob said with a sigh releasing the dog while it had a meal. Rewards as he was taught was the only thing to motivate the dog besides fear but for strange reason the Sunberth kennels did not allow that. "Still nothing Jinsen?" he asked again in hopes that it would have found something other than a half eaten chicken and when the dog brought it to Bob, he only said "I'll pass" just to be polite. "Maybe you can give it to Eridanus. Go on, he would like it" he said convincing the dog to try and force it to the ethaefal he was pointing at. "Thats the way Jinsen" he said when he saw the dog moving.

When the dog was at Eridanus, Bob commented that "its like he vanished. I wish I knew how to do something like that in Sunberth." That would have made his life a lot more safer. "I don't think he is hiding since we would have found him" especially with a dog about. Maybe in the rose, the backdoor was there. Bob went to turn the handle only to find that it was locked and "that is everywhere I guess. Unless we want to try the roof but too bad we don't have a spider handy." Bob gave a yawn before going to give it one more try on his own. Pulling some of the bins and crates away to see if he could find anyone hiding other than the "rats!" that went scurrying about. But besides that, all he could find was waste, waste and more waste.

[Eridanus]

"I'm not threatening you, Bob, but if you value your life - and I know I value mine, just take a leap of faith and try a little suspension of disbelief, and it'll be better for both you and me," Eridanus said in response to that, and it was the only thing he would reveal. It would just not do to break the statute of secrecy the DOI had, and he did not want Protocol 45A to be executed on him on his very first job. There were still secrets waiting to be discovered by him.

Bob attempted to bribe him of course, and it was quite evident that the midget had not yet quite adjusted out of his lawless ways in Sunberth. Or perhaps he had always been like that. The ethaefal's behavior in Sunberth had been a phase, and one that he shifted quite comfortably out when he properly adjusted to living in a lawful city with an efficient government and law enforcement authority.

"Oh? And how much mizas is that?" He said, provoking Bob to reveal more. Of course, he would include all of that in his report if Bob did not truthfully surrender the full amount that belonged to the woman, and it was up to the DOI if they deemed it necessary to transfer the case to the Womiyu's Speakers for further action. He would include it in his report anyway, for he had no idea of knowing whether Bob was lying, and it was again up to the relevant authorities if they deemed further investigations were necessary.

That was not his problem, anyway.

Bob's shenanigans with his dog continued, and Eridanus wondered if it was Jinsen's incompetence that resulted in this behavior. He scratched his chin suspiciously, for a dog could possibly not be that incompetent, and he urged Jinsen along, finding the dog looking at an alley forlornly, but not moving on.

He looked at Bob in confusion, gesturing at the alley for them to enter, but Bob would tell him that he was a fool for asking them to walk through the walls.

It was then that he realized.

That alley was one leading to one of the many doors in Alvadas that lead to the infamous Underground.

The ethaefal sighed, for that just meant more paperwork. He had wanted to quickly find evidence to allow him to polish this incident off as a civilian case and forward it to the Womiyu, but now that the Underground was involved the DOI would have to be.

That also meant that he would have to lead Bob into the Underground, which meant that by exposing the midget and his dog to the darker illusions below the city, the city would stop actively protecting Bob from accidentally stumbling into the Underground.

Eridanus proceeded to explain all of this to Bob. Of course, the midget would have insisted on going on, and with the disclaimer of "Well it's your funeral" Eridanus would bring the two of them down that shady alley, opening the door that led to the Underground.

They climbed down the stairs which winded up, down, sideways, and in random directions for no reason, yet the inertia in their bodies still told them that they were descending.

"Perfectly normal," Eridanus assured, if Bob were to make a comment about the confusing aspect of the stairs.

Soon, they entered the Underground, with its dark, misshapen streets, its ancient and dilapidated architecture, the blurred and constantly shifting darker illusions in the distance, and the disturbing moon of blood red that hung above the fake sky.

"Lead the way," He said, gesturing for Bob to get Jinsen to continue leading the trail.

[Bob Barton]

Even if Bob knew the amount of mizas he got, he would not tell Eridanus on principle. He thought he could just get away with after the "ooooooo, value of live. Scary Eridanus, scary..." which Bob thought was a joke, giving a surprised monkey face in a womanly tone in response. No, "if I knew we wouldn't have this problem now do we?" and if that was believed Bob could give as little of a cut as he wanted without the ethaefal being able to voice any complains. Any method of payback would be justified for this little rudeness and any problems that would be soon to come as far as Bob was concerned with Eridanus. For someone who has known him for nearly two seasons, he should have known better.

As for Jinsen which was his dog, it should have known better than to consort with the enemy as well. Just what did it think it was doing with helping Eridanus find something instead of its own master? "I know it is a pretty mural" and such a thing was not uncommon in the artsy Alvadas "but just because it looks like a place you want to walk into doesn't mean that you actually can." Sometimes the horny people seemed to be just as incompetent as the dog. They needed more in their head than just their looks. The idea of a city that plays tricks on its people and changes everyday was bad enough but now actively hiding a whole other place? That was one of the worst things that Bob has ever heard and he has told really bad things before.

"The roof still seems like a more realistic place for us to have a look." he said while he searched around the building. "There is even a ladder that we can use to go up" that Bob could swear that he never saw before though in the dark he could have easily missed it. The most important thing about that is that "we can actually walk through it" unlike the mural that Eridanus was trying to get him to walk into. It was too much like a horror story now to try and pull prank for a comedy. To show that "you are both acting ridiculous!" Bob went up to the mural and pushed his hands on it saying that "there is nothing heeeeee"re? He did not expect to be right when he found himself falling down through the very wall that he expected to be holding him up.

He was facing a glass staircase which was going down and even with the explanation he was given he still ended up asking "what the heck is this?" and it was considered normal? Bob did not even want to know what has Eridanus been doing the past few days to reach this point but when he got to their destination it was normal in a sense. "It looks a lot like Sunberth." Dark, gloomy and depressing without the cheap theatrics so what would Bob do about it? "Why don't you lead the way since you seem to know more about this place than I do?" If something jumps out it can eat Eridanus first without causing much of a loss in this world. This was because as he would put it "you took and contaminated anything that Jinsen could use to regain the scent." That would teach Eridanus a lesson about taking the things that Bob has fairly acquired for himself.

However Bob did want to get this business over with as soon as possible and decided that "I'll point you in the right direction." Hopefully Jinsen still remembered the scent of the woman when he asked it to "find the baddie. Go on" or wait, it already had that chicken from earlier. "Give me something of hers. You know what I am talking about..." he asked impatiently holding out his arm. As soon as he had it he put it in front of Jinsen to get the dog to sniff out its scent so that it can get on the trail. Of course it just had to go back to the stairs and Bob had to push it at the other direction because "that's the wrong way!" After he was satisfied that Jinsen was sure enough he told Eridanus that "its that way" which was where the dog was headed towards.

[Eridanus]

After a little bit of fuss, Eridanus handed over a trinket that he collected in the evidence box for Jinsen to use for tracking. The midget manhandled the dog for a while, before it began to go on a path, and the duo silently followed. There was something surreal about a tall ethaefal of otherworldly beauty and a short mortal walking a dog that seemed to be oblivious of its surroundings, all under a crimson moon and the dark whispers that made up their surroundings.

The Alvadas Underground was a dark, dark place. Far darker than Sunberth or Ravok could ever be, with its twisted illusions that the city desperately tried to hide from its clueless citizens, a place where ancient mobilities fight for what little rewards that remained, and a place where nightmares come alive.

Nothing much occurred, except for the murmurs in the alleys and the sidewalks, murmurs that spoke of warped imaginations and deluded hallucinations. They did not emerge from their positions, instead beckoning with sweet temptations and unforgivable sin. The ethaefal was resolute, and continued urging the dog on.

It was soon when they arrived at a misshapen house, a building which architecture would make it impossible to remain standing in a world where reality took precedence. Here, imagination ran wild, and that was the fuel for the Underground that formed the rules of physics. In here, the only rule was that of none.

The dog stopped at the door, pawing at the dilapidated door, and Eridanus glanced at Bob. "Here we are, I suppose, any plans?"

Taking out a scroll of parchment and a quill that seemingly produced a continuous stream of ink (that he appropriated from the stationary shelf in the Department Headquarters), he began to write a brief rundown of what he had been doing so far. The Department, despite its mysteriousness, was still responsible and accountable for its actions, and in turn it demanded reports from its agents.

Using one hand to prop the parchment up while angling his body so that Bob could not see what he wrote, the ethaefal jotted down in note-form the happenings so far, including points for the Department or the Womiyu to take note regarding Bob. He ended the report where he was now, and when he had a proper desk he would flesh it out with words. Blowing on the scroll to dry the ink, he curled the parchment up again and returned the stationary to his robes.

[Bob Barton]

As he watched Eridanus give him what he wanted, Bob could not help but be annoyed. That so called evidence box he had contained quite a few nice things. Being slightly optimistic he could tell that the box was half full with things, things that he could use for that damned debt. Who invited Eridanus to the party anyway? Who needed that meddlesome ethaefal who always stuck his nose into things and ruins them? Not Bob! The longer that he was allowed to think about this the more the hostility turned into meticulous planning which the scheming planner could use to get rid of his problem and save him plenty more in the future.

Maybe right after he was done with Jinsen although there would not be a better chance than this. In this dark place hidden away from everyone else following the tail of some psychopath anything can happen that Bob could use to escape suspicion. That could only happen once he finds said psychopath and Jinsen was making thing hard for him. Everytime the dog seemed to stray away from the trail, it was up to Bob to set it right again, bringing the trinket to it as it was being trained. Right now! That was the best excuse he could use because "Jinsen might need the scent again" so that he can hold on to it. Long enough so hopefully someone might forget all about it together with Bob right until he reaches home and empties his pockets. Until then it was all "find the baddie Jinsen!" and soon. The other things hiding close were unnerving. More than the ethaefal's stupid attempts to try and take control of Bob's own dog.

At least they were finally at their destination and the one who was hindering their efforts the most somehow found a way to start writing...something. Normally Bob would not take any interest in it but the extent of Eridanus trying to keep it away, and above Bob was obvious. Maybe something would have to be done with that too. "Don't make my planning keep you" he remarked bitterly when Eridanus finally tucked his things away but Bob's plan was already in the works. The ethaefal should not have thought he could do something so important and secretive in front of Bob especially when he roughly knew of its nature.

Also time consuming. It was long enough for Bob to start sucking in res into his mouth like he was inhaling from his lungs. A very proper comparison in this situation because when there was quite a bit gathered, he started blowing out the res in its gaseous form. Mimicking the way the ethaefal was blowing dry the ink in a manner that those who knew him see as mockery. Added now with the res it was something more as the res stuck itself behind the parchment that went together into the robes. Once it was in there Bob explained that "your role in the plan is easy enough" and to mark his petty victory he extended his concentration to keep the res on the parchment to ignite and start burning up into flames. Waiting until Eridanus feels the heat, Bob held on to Jinsen telling it that "its ok" because the fire would take out the parchment and then snuffed out by Eridanus if he did not want to burn to death although that would be fun to watch.

Once he sees the ethaefal's reaction, Bob would quickly run to the door with faked panic as he hammers on it crying for "help! My friend is on fire!" while pulling Jinsen close to him so that the dog would not try to help or run away. Hitting the door harder Bob shouted louder for whoever is in it to "hurry! Water before his burns!" before finding out that the door was not locked at all when one of the hard blows pushed it back. Well that was unnecessary. Hopefully all this did not alert the killer if he was really in the house.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus did not quite like the midget's expression as he kept the parchment, but when his passive sensitivities to magic began tingling it was already too late. The parchment burst into flames, and the fire began to spread to his robes as he felt a burning heat from within his body. Swearing as he snuffed out the flames by patting on it, he glared at Bob as the midget began his act and pounding on the door.

An act of hostility!

Was it perhaps all a trap? A lure? He tensed up at the thought, ready to lay the smack on Bob should he continue with his surprise attack. Yet it seemed that Bob did not have that intention, opening the door which was unlocked.

Muttering to himself, he began to pull djed from his body, refusing to take a further step. Keeping his senses aware for any movement - physical or magical - he began shaping the djed around his body, forming a second layer over his entire figure. His mind whirred into action, mentally programming instructions to absorb djed and a blanket rejection on all biological intrusions.

That should solve it.

He continued to stand there, casually taking out another piece of parchment from another pocket. This time, he quickly jotted down all the stuff he wrote previously before the note was burned, but including the pointer for investigation by the government due to an unprovoked attack by Bob on a civil servant as well as wilful destruction of government property.

Keeping the note, he walked slowly up from behind Bob, his face a poker expression as he pretended to peer into the house. Without warning, he turned his body, slamming Bob to the side of the door frame as he choked the midget's neck in a vice grip.

Being quite aware that there might be retaliation, he kept his other hand free to block any attacks, growling dangerously, "Don't try that again," before withdrawing his choke and stepping back again from the house.

"Find him," He continued, verbally prodding for Bob to lead the way with his dog. The dog led them to this house, and so it was quite highly possible that this was the killer's lair. If the killer was not in the house, they only needed to secure damnable evidence and he could withdraw, leaving everything else to the Womiyu.