Expanded Horizons: Beyond the Blue

On Patrol

Detective Minh sighed as he held his hat and ducked under the caution tape toward the crime scene for the third time this month. Only two weeks in, too. Whoever kept doing this really needed to find a new hobby.

The cops lining the hall made way for him to pass with solemn nods and reassured looks to each other with his presence. Minh was the only man in Joustbergh's law enforcement system that had any history of understanding essence magic. A rare trait in any department, for sure, but an important one in any major city. Minh saw more work than most, too, as Joustbergh seemed to have a major problem with essence magic crimes compared to other cities in the Freelands.

Minh approached the final room in the house and slowly cracked the door open to see three heavily armed and armored guards around the room. They each gave him a quick nod as he entered; they knew each other at this point. They were basically his personal security detail with nullification capabilities in case the essence user came by.

The victim still sat in his seat, eyes rolled back in the same fashion as all the rest and face pale as a ghost. Minh could just see the light rise and fall of his chest, the body still just barely alive but with no soul inside. No matter how many times he saw it, the sight still sent shivers down his spine.

"No signs of forced entry?" Minh asked.

"No, sir. Just like all the others."

"Matches the M.O. Let me look around, see what I can find; make sure it's the same one as always."

Minh started rifling through drawers and cabinets for anything that might indicate his usual unknown suspect was responsible. Whoever stole these people's souls never stole anything else, never changed anything about the room. That was the weirdest part of it. Windows were usually latched, door locked, safes unopened. The culprit was either never here, or was a master mage of a level no one had ever seen.

In spite of most people considering it distasteful, Minh knew what he had to do when he found nothing. The guards indicated that one of the victim's wall paintings hid a private safe and Minh guided the soulless husk over to it gently by hand. The knowledge was still there, the victim's basic instincts could still be used. Minh guided the victim's hand to the dial of the safe and watched as he wordlessly opened it up.

After opening it, the victim one of the guards guided the victim back to his seat to hide the unethical use of his body and Minh checked the contents of the safe. The contents mainly consisted of shipping documents, manifests, and details on deals he made outside Joustbergh. But one thing stood out strongly compared to all the others, confirming Minh's suspicions about the perpetrator.

"The item is to be transported under heavy security to the warehouse and no one is allowed to see the contents," Minh mumbled as he read a small piece of paper. "When it arrives, it will be placed in the special stealth case which should be invisible to the originator. I will not be swindled by such a con artist as he."

Minh shook his head. Just like most or all of the other victims, this one made a deal with someone he shouldn't have. Someone powerful and terrifying, with an understanding of essence and the resources and personnel to do as he pleased. Seemed to be a popular pastime for people in Joustbergh.

"It's our usual suspect," Minh said. "He was never here. Never will be. You all can go home."

"What about the victim?"

"We'll get specialists here." Minh walked over to the desk and looked over the empty-eyed body. "Don't worry, Mr.-" Minh looked at the name on the desk- "Stahlecker. We'll get justice for you. Not that it'll do much good for YOU anymore."

Detective Minh took his exit and knew he wasn't going to make any real progress tonight, as these crimes were nearly impossible to track. When he struggled with a case, they brought in other experts from other cities to all work together, and even the greatest experts in essence tracking couldn't find a single lead. He might as well get a drink; he needed to dull his senses. Seeing soulless husks tends to fry a person's nerves pretty fast.

Minh lit up some tobacco and moseyed down the street right past his usual place. The usual scenery and people simply wouldn't cut it tonight. The usual lately had too much to do with essence crimes. Instead, he opted to walk on over to the easier section of town, where the nightlife existed but mostly among a crowd of people who knew each other already. When he arrived in the district of choice, he immediately laid his eyes on a fine-looking establishment and settled for it immediately.

"Starcloud," he said curiously as he walked up its front steps.

He pushed the door open to a sigh of gentle lighting and plenty of people talking fairly quietly amongst themselves, often looking toward the bar. He let his eyes follow and saw a Kosmich elf woman with her hand on some poor guy's shoulder, shoving him into his seat. Minh chuckled, figuring the guy probably said something out of line, and went to the opposite end of the bar from the noisemakers. Before he even had his bum in his seat, the barkeep was on him.

"What can I get ya?" he asked.

"Something good, something strong," Minh said, dropping several coppers onto the table. The barkeep swiped them up.

"Coming right up."

Minh sat quietly, breathing in the lingering scent of tobacco smoke still on his jacket, barely listening to what was going on around him. The barkeep slid him his drink from afar and Minh sipped away, glad to be able to focus on the burn and forget his troubles. Toward the end of his drink, he looked over to see the elf woman angrily running out the door after the man as he dashed away. He laughed; it wasn't his problem tonight.

"Hoo, boy," the barkeep said as he returned with a second glass. "Colm's done it this time."

"Smash and dash?"

"HA! No, 'fraid not."

"Shame. I would."

"Not with that one. Least, not if you wanna live."

"I suppose." Minh picked up the new glass and took a sip. "The boy a troublemaker?"

"You a cop?" the barkeep asked. Minh chuckled and shrugged. "Eh, fine. No, he ain't that sort. But his work does put him on a lot of people's short list."

"Any chance he could help with an investigation?" Minh asked emptily. The barkeep cocked a curious eyebrow. "We have another victim of essence magic on our hands."

"Again?" the barkeep asked, shocked. Minh nodded. "This city, man. I can't believe this."

"It has to be either an experienced and knowledgeable lone wolf, or something organized," Minh said, shaking his head. "And based on what we have, a lone wolf doing all this would need a ton of resources at their disposal."

"So it's gotta be organized."

"Unless the perp is some master mage. Possible, but not likely."

"If the boy survives the night, I'll see if he knows anything," the barkeep said. "Though I sorta doubt he will."

"Survive?" Minh asked with a chuckle. The barkeep chuckled back.

"That he'll know anything. Whoever he works for is whatever it is, but he ain't too high on the totem pole himself, I reckon."

"Real talk, though. Is his work legal?"

"Far as I know, it is, though I don't really know what he does. It just tends to get him beat up," The barkeep said with a shrug. "Does that help?"

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Collecting is the nature of my problem, but I doubt he's the one to talk to." Minh pushed the glass forward. He finished without even noticing. "But it does give me some ideas. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," the barkeep said. "Name's Abelard. Come on back any time for a drink or a word."

"Might have to take you up on that."

Detective Minh left Starcloud with his hands in his pockets and a new tobacco roll between his lips, the faint orange glow in front of his face illuminating the smoke in front of him. He walked off into the cold night, eager to pursue new ideas and leads to clear the smoke that clouded his case.