“Begging your pardon, sirs, but the Inspectors are here.”
“?”
“!”
Inspectors?
As those from the Church of White? Arnold tilted his head. Why were they here of all places?
“Damn, those mutton shunters could sniff a trail to the ends of the earth! Master, we must make haste before they find us!” Davis hissed, his voice laced with urgency.
Arnold, however, did not immediately understand why it was so alarming.
“Why must we run?”
It wasn’t as if they would be arrested for enjoying a drink. Besides, they were in a private snug; did the Inspectors have the authority to search them without cause?
Furthermore, the thug’s activities were under the Baroness’s jurisdiction. If Inspectors wanted to interfere, they should need her permission first.
Did he misunderstand the hierarchy? Did the Church hold higher authority than a noble? Or… did these thugs do something more suspicious than he had been told?
Arnold narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed suspiciously on Davis.
Davis frantically answered as he began to pack his food into a bag, clearly unwilling to waste a single coin. “Ya don’t understand, Master! They can sniff out the truth! No one can hide anything from them!”
‘Hmm.’
“Boss Danz warned us before! The Inspectors may dress like respectable gentlemen, but they are despicable scum! They will do anything for information, even resort to torture!”
‘Oh…’ Understandable.
Yes. Hearing that, running was indeed the correct choice.
Izzy was particularly familiar with that kind of "justice." Capture first, torture second, decide guilt or innocence last.
Although Arnold was just a vessel, Izzy didn't want him to be caught just because of curiosity.
Arnold rose from his chair and walked toward the side door of the snug, the one that led directly into a narrow side street.
This was why he wasn’t in a hurry. This exit was secluded enough, and with many snugs branching out, it was almost impossible for an outsider to track who left from where.
Davis flung the door open, and the trio stepped outside.
“[EXIT IS DISALLOWED!]”
“Eghhhh!”
“Aghhhh!”
Yet, just as they set foot outside, a booming voice thundered in their earlobes!
A crushing pressure crashed into their shared mind. Isa and Izzy both screamed inside the mindscape, clutching their heads against the incredible headache that threatened to tear them apart. Their mental space trembled violently.
Outside, Arnold’s knees gave out. The world spun wildly, and he staggered forward, slamming the side of his head against the frame of the door before collapsing onto the ground.
Beside him, Davis and Rudo also fell, both gripping their heads and groaning. They were in slightly better shape, but still utterly overwhelmed.
“M…master!” Davis choked out.
“AGGHH!” Arnold could only scream through clenched teeth as his vision blurred.
He tried to rise, but the headache spiked in intensity!
“Da…vis, do something!” Rudo shouted, his deep voice cracking.
“I know!”
Davis fumbled inside his pants and pulled out a coin. It was an Alan coin, but subtly different. From the edge of Arnold’s vision he saw a small red mist simmering from its surface.
Davis flicked it into the air, his pupils flashing crimson.
“[Distraction!]”
At the same moment, Rudo’s muscles bulged. He hooked an arm under Arnold and another under Davis, scooping both of them up like sacks of grain. Then he sprinted straight toward the street, forcing his trembling legs to obey.
—
Standing in front of the pub, one hand tucked inside his white ulster coat, the other holding a pipe, Gregory Turner inhaled steadily. The pipe smoke drifted around the brim of his fez hat, rising in thin coils before dissolving into the chill village air.
His eyes flickered with a brilliant gold, as if a thin veil of light moved beneath the surface of his irises.
He stopped inhaling after a brief moment, a frown knitting his brows.
Beside him stood Naomi Crowle, holding her cross-headed cane close to her chest.
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Her long golden blonde hair flowed past her shoulders, strands shimmering softly beneath the daylight. The neatly trimmed bangs framed her gentle face, and when she leaned closer, her hair swayed with her movement.
“Captain, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.
Gregory only stared silently in one direction ahead, his pupils moving slowly. Naomi followed his gaze, but she could only see the Lost Shepherd pub’s front door.
The wind rustled the hem of his cloak, yet Gregory remained completely still.
After several long seconds, he reached into his coat and took out a clean white handkerchief. He cleaned his pipe until the golden gleam in his eyes dimmed and returned to their usual, stern hue.
“Someone ignored my restriction.”
“Should we pursue them?” Naomi tilted her head, her soft hair sliding over her shoulder like silk.
She wasn’t surprised. Situations like this were not rare. People always ran when they heard of the Inspectors. No one would want to stay in one place to get caught, after all.
Besides, only the guilty would want to run away in the face of the Church.
Gregory did not appear bothered. He slipped the handkerchief back into his pocket and answered in a calm tone.
“No need. I remember their presence. After Troy and Hazel return, we will track them down.”
He returned the pipe to his coat, adjusted the collar of his white ulster, and walked calmly toward the entrance of the pub.
—
‘Hah, hah…’
After running for quite some time, Rudo dropped both Davis and Arnold onto the ground. He slumped against a tree trunk, his large frame rising and falling heavily as he tried to catch his breath.
Davis sprawled on the dirt like a man who had been dragged through a battlefield. He threw his arms out dramatically and shouted at the sky.
“Dangit, who would have thought they were bold enough to put a restriction in a public building!”
Rudo answered while panting, one hand gripping the bark behind him for support.
“Their patience… has run thin.”
“Shit!”
Davis scowled as if he had just bitten into a sour fruit. His expression crumpled with despair.
“My hard-won coin…”
He slumped forward with a broken spirit. Losing an Alan coin was akin to losing a limb for someone like him.
Arnold lay on the grass, his head spinning. He pushed himself up, still dizzy, and managed to ask between breaths.
“What… hah… what did you just do?”
“Ah?”
Davis and Rudo both turned toward him. They exchanged a brief uncertain glance. Rudo’s eyes flashed with a dangerous gaze, like a wolf ready to lash out.
‘What?’
But Davis shook his head and broke the tension. He answered, his voice regaining some of its sly smoothness.
“What I used is an ability of my path. The Deceiver path of the Apprentice stage. It is called [Distraction].”
Still sitting on the dirt, Davis pulled a copper coin from his pocket. With a light flick, he tossed it into the air.
The moment it left his fingers, Arnold’s pupils locked on it.
The coin spun three, five, ten times in the air…
It spun fifteen times… seventeen….
*snap*
Davis caught it the moment it fell.
‘What?’
“Basically,” Davis said slowly, as he had somehow risen to his feet, “This is but a cheap trick to lead the eye astray.”
He stood tall above Arnold, his worn boots planted firmly in the dirt. His smile curled upward with quiet pride, and his sunken eyes shimmered crimson. His messy brown hair stirred in the gentle forest breeze.
Wasn’t he still sitting one moment ago?
Had Davis stood up… or had he always been standing?
Inside Arnold’s mind, both Izzy and Isa snapped back to their senses.
Their focus had unexpectedly followed the coin!
They were both surprised. That was a remarkably handy ability to possess. Even with two minds and the panoramic awareness of their Field Vision, they still couldn’t maintain their focus!
“But truth be told, Master,” Davis continued, his tone softening with a measure of respect, “even with such a trick, the thought of besting you… it gave me pause. That’s why we yielded before things got uglier.”
It was true. Even if he used [Distraction], in a truly dangerous circumstance, Izzy’s instinct would have kicked in.
But… that was still an extremely helpful piece of information to have. They needed to find a way to counter that ability.
Izzy controlled Arnold to shoot Davis a suspicious look. It was a subtle glare that clearly said: ‘You did not tell me about that.’
Davis coughed lightly.
“Well… I suppose it’s the nature of a Deceiver, is it not?”
‘This guy…’ Arnold narrowed his eyes. Could he trust even half of what this man said?
Davis straightened suddenly. Before Arnold could speak, Davis lowered his head in a respectful bow.
“My apology, master, but we must take our leave. We’ve a need to warn our group and lay low for a time. I fear our paths may not cross again.”
Arnold blinked. But he hadn't finished asking yet…?
“Why?”
“You may not know, master. In our group, Boss Danz warned us excessively about them. Those hounds of the Church… their reputation for tracking is infamous. It’s why every outlaw fears their shadow.”
Arnold felt his heart skip a beat. Tracking? So dangerous? That was troublesome… and extremely useful for solving crimes.
“Sure, you are dismissed.”
He would remember this. If that was not a metaphor, then the Inspectors were indeed very dangerous… and would be incredibly helpful for cracking many cases.
Rudo bowed politely, and the two men sprinted away until their figures vanished between the trees.
Still breathing hard, Arnold leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree.
‘This vessel is so low on stamina.’
In his mind, Izzy remembered the intensified headache she had just felt. Or rather, both minds recalled it. That crushing pressure. What was that ability?
It was the first time they had encountered a power that directly caused them harm. Inside their mindscape, Izzy still felt a tingling, piercing throb from earlier. It hurt enough to render them unable to do anything but endure.
While Arnold was steadying his breath, Izzy and Isa’s heads peeked up. Through their main body’s Field Vision, they noticed a strange movement back in the mansion.
‘Hmm?’
Since the situation had been so chaotic, and after experiencing the debilitating headache, they had not monitored their main body at all.
The attic door creaked open, and a white bonnet peeked in. Blonde hair appeared beneath it.
‘This girl, what is she doing there?!’
Please note that the power faction is not equal to the Organization. A Faction is a group of paths, often with similar color groups together, but some will depend on their unique name. Example: the Organization consists of Demon of Dispute Order, the Church of White, Church of Contest, Hysteria, Sweet Blood, Silver Land, etc etc... while the Faction consists of Harmony Faction (golden color) and Violence Faction (crimson color). There will be some other Factions that have different colors in it, so it will group by their name and their abilities, but that information will be for another time. We won't get too deep into that now. (it's not that I haven't thought of why they group up as a Faction yet....really....huhu@@)
I may use Circle, Wing, or Clan,... but I found Faction is a good name, although it may become quite hard to differentiate them.
Just a quick poll for reminders
