Dean woke up to the sound of his housekeeper, Lerrin, stirring in the adjacent room. He rubbed his eyes, his naked body under his blanket, trying to shake off the fatigue. It had been a rough night, filled with unsettling thoughts, memories and a little bit of entertainment. Lerrin entered the room, carrying a tray with steaming hot tea and fresh fruit.
"Good morning, sir," she said softly. "I brought your breakfast."
Dean nodded, grateful for her thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Lerrin. You're a lifesaver."
Lerrin smiled and began to tidy up the room. "You didn't sleep well.... sir?"
"How could I not? With a woman like you entertaining me all night"
Lerrin stared for a little while.
Dean sighed, running his hands through his hair. "No, I didn't. Mark's presence brought up a lot of old memories."
Lerrin's expression turned sympathetic. "I'm sure it's not easy having him here."
"Let's forget about him..." Dean said as he pulled Lerrin into his bed, both their eyes locked onto each other.
"How do you wake so early and prepare all this....."
Meanwhile, downstairs, Lysera, Vynella, and Fynn were enjoying a hearty breakfast. Lysera was regaling them with stories of their adventures in the Capital, making Vynella giggle and Fynn chuckle.
Mark entered the dining hall, his eyes still red from lack of sleep. He took a seat beside Fynn, who nodded in greeting.
"Morning, Mark," Lysera said, concern etched on her face. "You look like you've had a rough night."
"Just didn't sleep well, that's all."
Vynella tried to reach out and touch his hand. "We're here for you, Mark. Whatever it is, we'll face it together."
Mark didn't give her a reply.
Just then, Fynn leaned in closer to Vynella's ear.
"Vyny, does this man, ever smile at all?"
"Not that I've seen..."
"You know I can hear you" Mark chipped in.
As they finished breakfast, Dean joined them, looking more composed than earlier. "Good morning, everyone. I trust you're all feeling refreshed?"
Lerrin entered the room, carrying a stack of clean towels. "Sir, I'm done tidying the guest rooms for our visitors. Shall I show them to their quarters?"
Dean nodded. "Yes, please do. We have a lot to discuss today."
As Lerrin led Lysera, Vynella, and Fynn to their rooms, Mark lingered behind, his eyes fixed on Dean.
"You and I..." Dean said looking back at Mark " have unfinished business...Come on" He beckoned Mark to come as he led Mark to a staircase which led to his little chancery.
Just as Mark and Dean were about to begin their conversation, one of Dean's underlings came into the chancery with a report.
"What is it this time Tobii?" Dean asked, rolling his eyes.
"I'm afraid it's something rather urgent..."
"Which is...."
"Some men in a bar near our district fell asleep and refused to wake up" Tobii said, with worry on his face.
"That happens all the time, you came to report drunk men..." Dean replied as he was going through some paperwork.
"You don't understand sir, they're dead, out cold, about nine of them"
Dean's head sprang up.
"Were your guys able to identify who they were?"
"Yes...it's Xirius...and some of his men"
Dean's eyes widened in shock... Xirius? It can't be.
"How?"
"We dunno yet"
"Shit!"
Dean quickly stood up from his chair.
"Mark....you mind helping me check this out, please" He asked as he gave out his hand to Mark.
Mark took his arm and stood up.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a mass killer"
Tobii led Dean and Mark down the stairs. They were in a hurry.
"Where are you three off to?" Fynn asked as he saw them reaching for the door.
"Three of you should remain here..." Mark replied, opening the door. "We have something we need to attend to!"
Lerrin quickly stepped in as Fynn wanted to follow Mark.
"The second master commands you remain here"
"Second master?" Fynn asked, looking annoyed.
"... we'll stay, we'll stay..." Lysera interrupted their little chat and pulled Fynn by the arm.
"We don't have time for this!"
The air crackled with tension as Dean, Mark, and Tobii rushed out of the house. The three friends exchanged worried glances, their curiosity piqued by the sudden urgency.
"What do you think is going on?" Vynella asked, her voice tinged with apprehension.
Fynn shrugged, his brow furrowed. "I have no idea. But I'm not liking the look on Dean's face."
Lysera, ever the pragmatist, decided to investigate. She quietly followed them out of the house, keeping a safe distance.
Meanwhile, Dean and Mark, their minds racing, found themselves in a dark, smoky tavern. The air was thick with the scent of stale beer and despair, and the patrons were a motley crew of drunken sailors and street urchins.
"This is the place," Dean said, his voice grim. "Tobii, you're sure this is where it happened?"
Tobii nodded, his eyes scanning the tavern for any sign of the victims. "Yes, sir. We kept them in the back room." One of the workers quickly met Tobii.
As they pushed their way through the crowd, a pungent smell hit their nostrils. It was the unmistakable odor of death.
"God have mercy," Mark murmured, his face paling. "The stench is unbearable."
They found the back room, where the victims lay sprawled on the floor, their faces frozen in expressions of terror and agony. The scene was gruesome, and Mark had to look away to avoid vomiting.
"Someone get me a towel..." Dean demanded. "And one for him..." He said pointing to Mark.
"These people seem to respect you much" Mark said as they were both tying the towels over their noses.
"It comes with running the place..."
"Their eyes are blood shot..." Dean pointed out. He beckoned a waitress to hand him a knife from the kitchen. With it he made little cuts on the bodies of Xirius and his men.
And they all had one thing in common....their bloods were thick black, like soot mixed with water.
"It's poison" Mark added, trying to stomach the stench even from his towel mask.
"I'm going to send for the coroner," Tobii said, his voice trembling. "We need to get this place secured and call for an investigation."
Dean nodded, his gaze fixed on the victims. "But we also need to figure out who did this. And why."
Mark's eyes narrowed. "It's almost as if they were...drained of their life force. They look so grey"
Dean shuddered, his heart pounding in his chest.
As they stood there, pondering the mystery of the murders, a chilling thought entered their minds. What if the perpetrators were not gone, after all? And what if this was only the beginning?
"This isn't good," he muttered, his eyes filled with a chilling realization. "We've just been swept up in something bigger than we ever imagined."
Dean was smart. With the way these nine men died, it was obvious they weren't poisoned prior to their entry.
Dean called for all the staff, cooks, strippers and the like. He then started questioning them , about who they were last seen with.
"A boy was here with old man Xirius, brown hair, slightly brown eyes.....and yes...his pale shirt was all bloodied" The bartender pointed out.
"That so..." Dean turned and went to Mark. "Speaking of boys...one of yours didn't come home in the evening did he?"
Mark quickly realized, but he wouldn't have done it, and to that extent without reason.
"We'll find him, we have to"
......................
Kael, meanwhile, continued his trek through the Capital's labyrinthine streets. He dodged crowds, slipped through alleyways, and scaled walls, all the while keeping an eye out for anyone who might be following him.
He had found a new hiding place, an abandoned warehouse, where he could rest and plan his next move.
"I need to get to the children," he muttered, his mind churning with thoughts of the orphanage and the vampires who had attacked it.
Kael knew that the vampires had been working with the traffickers for a reason. They were not just random acts of violence. There was a larger plan afoot, a plan that he needed to stop.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the old book he had found in the orphanage. It was filled with strange symbols and diagrams, some of which he didn't understand.
As he flipped through the pages, a chilling thought struck him. If he wanted to find the children, he'd have to think like a trafficker. Experience is the best teacher after all.
......................
"Doesn't seem like they're coming home any time soon..."
Lysera gently snuck back into the house.
"Apparently there's been a murder"
"...Can't be serious, I thought the Capital was the safest place around"
"Doesn't sound like that" Vynella added.
"Mark and Dean already seem to have a suspect...."
"Who?" Fynn was curious, but he wasn't ready for the question he was going to be asked.
"Where's Kael?" Lysera asked Fynn with a subtle tone. The both girls looked him, like they were expecting an answer.
"Oh no..." Fynn stroke his fingers through his hair. "This is my fault....I should have been watching him"
"They're not sure yet if he did it or not, but a bartender described seeing him there" Lysera tried to lessen the guilt Fynn was about to burden himself with.
"I doubt Kael had anything to do with this..." Vynella mentioned. "Murder isn't something a kid can pull of so easily. By the way..." Something clicked. "What sort of relationship did you have with Kael back at the orphanage, you both were awfully close...." Vynella's eyes were squinted.
"Now that you mention it..." Lysera added.
"You've been all cozy with that kid since he came to the orphanage"
"It's probably not what you guys think"
"Then tell us..."
Fynn however, was in no mood for storytime.
......................
Ferdinand was off on a business of his own. The screecher eyes weren't going to sell themselves. He walked into a jeweler's shop. It was a little dusty, the sunlight from the windows would make it more apparent.
"Ferdo ya little mutt...how you been" The jeweler knew Ferdinand a while back.
"Good to see you Rundy, came for business as usual" Ferdinand pulled out the little bag which contained his crystalline merchandise.
"Hope this isn't some fake"
"You can go through them if you'd like"
Rundy pulled out a structured object from the shelf behind him. It had about five to six layers of different lenses, positioned in set distances from the lens above them.
"This is genuine..." Rundy said whilst still looking at the eye from the lens.
''How did you even get your hands on these?"
"I have a...a friend. He hunts..."
"Ya have about fourteen here... I can't buy all this"
Ferdinand wanted that money. He quickly wanted to bargain.
"Tell you what...I sell you seven and give you a split one free"
"You mean half the eye..."
"Well yes"
Rundy thought for a moment. That half was still worth a lot.
"Fine then. So these seven should be..."
"About 1300 Kredits"
Rundy pulled out a stash of money from beneath his work table. He did his math and handed Ferdinand his money.
"Ferdo....what exactly brought ya to town. This coulda easily been sold elsewhere"
"Had a business with eh...a friend here"
"That right?" Rundy asked with his old tacky voice.
"Imma have to warn ya, be careful in these parts, Tinker's Island ain't always that safe anymore"
"Why what's wrong..." Ferdinand was curious.
"Couple o' children been missing these past weeks now there's been a murder at central capital"
Ferdinand's widened. That's was their entry into the Capital, and where they let the orphanage children off.
"There's been rumors though..." He whispered as he pulled Ferdinand closely to his face.
"Seems like the Island's underbelly's coming back to action" He said, his eyes going back and forth.
"Who are they then?" Ferdinand asked intrigued.
"They call them...The Veiled"