The Informants

(12) Present - Brandeen

Brandeen frowned a little as he got ready. While he and his brother were adept in infiltration missions, he didn't like what they would have to do in order to get noticed by the Garden. Dark guilds like the Garden didn't usually take random mages off the street to join them. No. Even with their criminal background, they hadn't been approached by the Garden. It was clear that they would have to gain their attention. And the easiest way the twins knew how to do that was by... well destruction. 

If you had talked to them a year back, they wouldn't have hesitated to cause any kind of destruction, in fact, the bigger the better. But that was then, they had changed, now the only destruction they usually caused was to that of dark guilds and underground rings. Neither of which would gain them any favors with the Garden. 

Which led them to where they were now, getting ready to destroy a town to the south of Atlantide. This had been the suggestion that was made during the guild leader's meeting, much to their surprise until they heard the reason. It turned out that this town was so overrun by criminals and the like that other towns nearby were starting to have problems. The guilds were even starting to get jobs based on taking out the town now, though the guild leaders had kept said jobs to themselves for now as they didn't believe that their guild could handle the mission. It wasn't an S-rank mission for no reason after all. 

While this did raise the question of whether or not the Garden would take it as a reason to ask them to join, the guild leaders explained that it was not very well known in Atlantide itself, at least as troublemakers. In addition to that, if they just went there and rained down as much destruction as possible, they'd think they were just criminal mages looking to cause some harm. And so it was decided. Even if he didn't like the idea too much... it had been so much easier to infiltrate underground rings...

Brandeen laced up his boots before slipping on his coat. His hand came to lay over his stomach and he smiled softly. Thinking about how he would soon be a mother (he couldn't wait for his baby to call him mama) calmed him down a little bit. Focus on the positives, let the negatives drift away. 

"Brandeen? You almost ready?" He got up and walked to the door of their bedroom as his brother called him. Opening the door, he walked out to join his brother who looked over at him in concern. "You good?"

"I'm alright, let's just get this over with." He told him. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could catch the attention of the Garden and start getting information. 

His brother nodded and they headed out after leaving a note for their husband. They made their way out of Atlantide subtly, though once they were a decent distance from the huge city, they began making their presence known. Well, Brandeen just started skipping as his magic was more mental than physical. Rian, on the other hand, started using his crash magic to destroy random trees as they walked. Luckily, they didn't pass anyone as they walked, at least, not anyone they could see. 

They reached the problematic town within three hours and got to work. While the two separated to do this, Brandeen could still hear the sound of his brother's crash magic causing destruction as he delved into the minds of others. You see, his magic while primarily called insanity magic, pertained more to mind magic. He could see into others' minds, seeing their thoughts, worries, guilt, as well as drive them insane. The only problem with this portion of his magic was that it wasn't unnoticeable. People would feel his intrusion and could try to force him out (not that it would work). If they didn't feel him entering their minds, they would have taken so many rings down so much quicker. However, it was good for seeing if there were any innocent in this town left (and finding out where the parents had sent their kids so that they could see that they were safely taken care of after they finished). 

The two made quick work of taking care of the town. By the end of it, they were sure that not would this town not be bothering anyone else, but it should also catch the attention of the Garden. At least that's what they concluded as they examined the destruction they had caused. 

"Its been a while since I've driven that many people insane," Brandeen commented as they walked around. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that the people he had encountered at this village were so twisted that they made a lot of convicts seem ok, he probably wouldn't have driven as many insane. But man. He could see how this former town was causing so much trouble. 

"Is that so?"