Spes Novis

The Abyssal City - 2

"I knooooow, Finn. I'm going to miss you too, but please let go. I came to say goodbye, not get tethered to this store by a bear-sized man," Lavender said with a laugh. She wiggled free from Finnikin's hug.

"Why can't I just come with you?" Finnikin asked. "I helped you on your last mission."

"That was back when I was breaking protocol," Lavender said. "I'm a good girl now, I follow the rules and have a whole unit to back me up. You're better off here, Finn. Besides, if you come with me, who's going to run your lovely shop?"

"I'll close for a little while," Finnikin suggested.

"You don't want to do that," Lavender assured him.

"Fine... You win this one, Lavender. But you had best call me every day," Finnikin pleaded.

Lavender rolled her eyes, "Okay, Mom. As you wish. I have to go now, the cable car out of Bellum is leaving soon and I need to ride to Spes Novis with the rest of my unit."

"Why Spes Novis?" Finnikin asked. "Is it really that important that you need to go all the way to the capital?

"That," Lavender tapped Finnikin's nose, "is classified information."

"You haven't had a problem telling me classified information in the past."

"Alas, I was young and stupid back then. I shared secrets like a loose-lipped gossip girl and cut envelopes with a scythe like a true barbarian," Lavender lamented.

"You still open letters with your scythe," Finnikin reminded her.

"I'll tell you all about our mission when I get back, alright?" Lavender did not feel it was fitting to get Finnikin involved any more than he had to be. Her entire unit was already going to Spes Novis in order to dig up information on the moles in the judiciary system, which was centered there.

There were eyes and ears everywhere. By telling Finnikin the details of her mission, she risked compromising her investigation, or even Finn's safety. "Please. It's for the best."

"I trust you," Finnikin said. "Stay safe, alright?" He gave her one last hug.

"Don't worry, I will." Lavender pried herself from the bear hug and gave Finnikin a kiss on the cheek before departing from his little shop.

Lavender took her luggage through the city of Bellum on her way to the transportation hub of the city. As Lavender traveled through Bellum square once again, she saw her headline on the newspaper stand. Typical. The old man had taken her money and her news. She supposed there was nothing she could do about it, though.

Lavender arrived at her destination, making good time. She pushed open the glass doors to the transportation center and was greeted by a myriad of people. The hub was even more crowded than the police station, but that was to be expected. Since the entire nation was underground, access to cars was limited. CO2 emissions were a real problem in a society located underground with very little ventilation. Some cars and buses were allowed on the streets, but those were highly regulated to ensure the theurgists could process all the emissions through their plant magic. As a result, many members of the United Mage Republic utilized the public transportation, which was well-funded and efficient. The major form of transportation in Bellum was the cable cars, which branched out from the central hub into the runoff areas of the city as well as up into the individual districts, located in deeper caverns.

Lavender looked at the clock in the transportation hub. Her cable car out of the city left soon, and her unit was nowhere to be seen. Where were they? Didn't they know that there was important business to attend to in Spes Novis? There were seeds of corruption all throughout the judicial system and if they did not launch their investigation soon, the D.C.s could wreck havoc on the Below once again.