Into That Wild Blue Yonder

26. After Action

Colm silently poured out a tall glass of bourbon for Idara and looked for any mead he could find. He knew Ulan liked the stuff, even if it was a little on the sweet end. At this point, he'd take just about anything for himself, even wine. Once he found a bottle and handed it to Ulan, he grabbed a liter bottle of whiskey set to work on himself.

Police swarmed into the room and scattered all around, gathering every scrap of evidence they could find. Only a pair of officers moved to check out the bodies around the box while the rest started on the other tables, noting guest names and party sizes, and some moved through the rest of the building. Just when it looked like the trio went entirely unnoticed, one very differently dressed officer beelined it for the bar.

"Evening," the kosmich elf man said with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "Detective Tobias, Special Investigations."

"Pleasure," Ulan said before chugging most of his bottle. Tobias nodded understandingly.

"I take it you three are the hired security for Miss Oswansha?"

"Yep," Idara replied with a groan.

"Quite a battle," Tobias said. "I'm surprised you came out as uninjured as you are. Though, considering the state of the other guys..."

"Wasn't us," Colm said.

"I can tell," Tobias said. Colm eyed him while he took a swig of whiskey. "I can recognize soulless husks. It's part of my job."

"I don't think there were any mages," Ulan said.

"We also know that," Tobias replied. "We have witnesses saying the recently departed brought that box in, with seals on each side. I want to know what was in that box."

"We don't know," Idara said with a shiver. "It was... it was huge, like a-"

"It was a Wendigo," Colm cut in. All eyes went straight to him, but he didn't continue. "What?"

"Care to share, nerd?" Idara said impatiently. "You know things, but you don't bother to tell us when it matters?!"

"It wouldn't have mattered."

"Why not?"

"The monastery didn't have much on them," Colm said slowly. He took a longer swig than usual. "All I would've told you is that we weren't going to win." Idara blinked.

"What?"

"It let us go," Colm said solemnly with a slow shake of his head.

"Why would it do that?" Tobias asked with suspicious eyes. "I've heard of these things before. They aren't exactly known for mercy."

"It said we had the right," Colm said with a shrug. "I guess it didn't like the guys we were up against, so it decided to like us?"

"Makes no sense," Tobias said.

"Few things do."

"Some of those things matter."

"And most of them, we can't help with," Colm said. "We'll give you a full statement or whatever. The only good info we have for you now is that whoever Oswansha danced with right before the night went to hell was one of the guys who brought it down."

"Is he here?"

"No, we left him upstairs after Oswansha used her heel to poke his eye out," Idara said.

"He shouldn't get far," Tobias said assuringly, though no one really cared about the guy. "Thanks for the tip."

"Can we give you a full statement later?" Idara asked. "I'm not really feeling up to it tonight."

"Me neither," Ulan said.

"That's fine," Tobias said. He took a card from his pocket and put it on the bar. "Stay in touch. It'll be longer if I have to find you."

"We will," Idara replied.

Tobias gave a little salute and spun around to walk away, leaving Idara, Colm, and Ulan to relax with their drinks a little longer before departing for the hotel. They would have to stop by the EMT's outside before leaving to get Ulan and Idara checked out, but-

"HEY!"

Dolf's annoying voice rang throughout the room like a dropped chalice in a ritual ceremony, drawing the gaze of every officer in the room, all beyond angry that an unauthorized individual made his way into an active crime scene. He stomped forward and shoved past Tobias before the detective could say anything straight for Idara.

"Ugh, what do you want now?" Idara asked as he walked up. "Don't you have to go pay people to be your friends?" Dolf opened his mouth to speak, now directly in front of her, but didn't get the words out in time. "Seriously!"

"Beat it," Ulan said with a growl.

"Well-" Dolf tried to start.

"Here," Colm said angrily, shoving a bottle toward Dolf. "Take this, get wasted, and kill yourself. Moon knows you'd never do us the favor on purpose."

"What the hell is going on?" Tobias asked as he stomped over, positively enraged. "Who do you think you are?"

"Mind your own business," Dolf said with a wave of his hand. Tobias blinked with wide eyes and shook his head, drawing a smirk from Idara.

"Oh, mind my own business?" Tobias asked, slapping a hand onto Dolf's shoulder. "My business, i.e., this crime scene, that you forced your way into?"

"I- no, I'm not causing any-"

"He's causing trouble," the trio said in unison.

"Why don't you step outside with me for a bit?" Tobias said, motioning for the door with his head. "I'm interested in your part in all this."

"There's been a misunderstanding," Dolf tried to backtrack. "I- this wasn't anything, I mean, I was also trying to help-"

"Kick his ass, Toby!" Ulan cheered, causing Colm to shoot liquor painfully out of his nose mid-swig. Idara chained the reaction, spewing bourbon onto Dolf's shoes and coughing in his face.

"Ugh!" Dolf cried out.

"Come on, I got cleaning wipes in the patrol carriage," Tobias said with a malicious grin. He whipped out a pair of handcuffs. "I'd hate to have to make this a scene."

"Can it be more of a scene?" Colm coughed out with a pained smile. Tobias smiled and shrugged.

"Let's go, big guy," he said. Dolf's shoulders dropped and he went along with the detective, leaving the trio alone once again.

"That was fun, at least," Ulan said.

"Almost makes it all worth it," Idara replied, wiping her face of spilt drink.

"Speak for yourselves," Colm said. "I'm just glad I still have a soul."

"Now we just need to get you a personality," Idara said with a smirk.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Idara and Ulan laughed and even Colm chuckled a bit, and the trio swiped a few extra expensive bottles and made their way out to the EMT's. Once they were checked out with no need for hospital beds, they made their way back to the hotel, eager to take an easy carriage ride back to comfortable beds and maybe a night in the hot tub.

High above, atop the dome, a shimmering, near-transparent figure loomed overhead, watching the group leave, pointing one long, jagged finger at them as they made their way home. Once they lay quietly in bed with the rest of the city, it slunk away into the darkness, using the darkness between the stars to find its way home and resume its guardianship once again.