Eldritch Guidance

Two days had passed since Joe and his team began sifting through the documents that Sorin had gone through at the Archive. During that time, Archmage Dakka had sent Joe's team a detailed list of items he wanted them to focus on while combing through the paperwork.

Under normal circumstances, Joe might have ignored such an order; he hated feeling like he was being turned into a mere paper-pusher. However, this directive came from an archmage of the university, and it was difficult to refuse such a request.

Currently, Joe, Dan, Sandra, and Mike were seated in the same private room at the Archive where they had first been led. Given the sheer volume of documents they needed to comb through, Joe decided it would be more efficient to meet at the Arcanium Archive instead of gathering at the police station or the university for now on.

They had asked Sandra, the head librarian, if they could reserve the private room for the next week. She generously booked the room for an entire month and even offered to help them with the documents. Joe readily accepted her assistance, knowing it would greatly speed up the process and save them all valuable time.

They were all currently combing through more books.

Dan let out a long sigh.

Dan: “This isn't as bad as the forms for the university, but it’s still tedious. How long is it going to take us to get through all this?” he said while putting the book he was reading down to take a break.

Sandra: “Hmm, I’d say based on the rate you are all going, about a week and half. Maybe before the end of the week if we pick up the pace,” she said while continuing to flip through a book.

Mike: “We’re more apt to miss something if we rush through this.”

Sandra: “It will take at least two weeks if you’re being thorough.”

Dan groaned inwardly. He glanced over at Joe with a pleading expression, hoping for some sort of reprieve or at least a change in their monotonous routine. Without even lifting his eyes from the dense tome he was engrossed in, Joe responded to Dan's silent plea with a dismissive wave of his hand, as if to say, "Get back to work."

Joe: “Don’t look at me like that. I’d weasel us out of this if I could, but I can’t this time. I’m on thin ice with Murdock during this whole investigation.”

Mike: “Look at it this way, Dan. We could be filling out forms for the university or doing—” he said before being interrupted by Dan.

Dan: “OK. I’ll get back to it,” he said, not even entertaining Mike's idea of going back to filling out university forms.

Mike: “Ah, sure. By the way, where are the enforcers that were assigned to our unit? We would be able to get through this faster with them here.”

Joe: “Two of the enforcers that were assigned to our unit will not be showing up for a few days. They’re students and still need to attend classes. So, I’m not gonna try and push work on them. Besides, it’s not looking like our group in specific is doing anything urgent or going to see any action during this Jixi investigation. We’re being relegated to paperwork duty by the looks of it.”

Mike: “Only for a week, two at maximum.”

Joe: “Eh, might be longer than that. If we don’t find anything interesting, I think Archmage Dakka will make us go through Sorin’s entire catalog of books he took out.” ř

Mike: “Oh, great. Just want I wanted to hear.”

Dan: “But, haven't we found enough information? Archmage Dakka wants us to find out what Sorin learned about soul binding magic, and how he was capable of casting it. Haven’t we already found all that info already?” he said, referring to all the information they had already gathered so far.

Joe: “I’m not actually sure about that. I don't know what Sorin was like as a person, but from what we've learned about soul binding magic so far, it would suggest he was insane to cast it. It’s extremely dangerous to cast. You risk accidentally ripping out your own soul when you use it. I see why the Archmage suspected Rattle Bone cult involvement. You would either have to be insane or an extremely talented necromancer. To which, the Rattle Bone cult has both in spades.”

Mike: “So, you're thinking Sorin might have uncovered something to give him the confidence in performing soul bind magic?”

Joe: “I don’t know yet for sure. But, you know me. Leave no stone unturned.”

Mike: “Yeah, and that drive to methodically look over every small detail can really bite us in the ass sometimes. It's adding an extra week to our search because of it.”

Sandra

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: “Um, anyways. You said two of the enforcers on your team weren’t going to be here. But, last time you came here I saw three. So, where is that member of your group?” she said, trying to change the subject.

Mike: “That’s a good point. Where is the senior enforcer? The one I believe you told me was named Rell.”

Joe: “He should be here soon. Rell was going to pick up the lab result from the alchemy department at the university.”

Mike: “Oh, is that about the slime substance you found at Larry’s home?”

Joe: “The same one. And, speak of the devil.”

The door to the private room creaked open, revealing Rell in his familiar white and gray enforcer uniform, circular glasses perched on his nose. A brown folder rested in his hand. His eyes swept across the room, briefly scanning each person before locking onto Mike. Without a word, he made his way toward him, his footsteps measured and deliberate.

Rell: “Hello, you must be Mike,” he said while extending his hand out.

Mike: “I am. You must be Rell,” he said as he gave Rell a firm handshake.

Rell: “It's nice to finally meet you. I was told I should be reporting to you while part of this team.”

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Joe: “That’s not necessarily. I’m the leader. So, if you have anything to report you should tell me.”

Rell briefly looked at Joe and then back at Mike.

Rell: “I was told I should be reporting to you while part of this team,” he repeated again at Mike, ignoring Joe.

Mike: “That’s probably for the best.”

Rell: “Hmm, I can already tell you’re a lot more professional. Yes, working with you will be a lot easier.”

Mike: “Yeah, I get that a lot with people. Mostly because the other people I work with are…difficult.”

Rell: “I understand. You have my sympathies.”

Joe: “Oh, ha, ha, ha. It so fucking funny to ignore Joe while subtly making jabs at him,” he said facetiously.

Mike: “Well, you do it to yourself with the rep you built up.”

Joe started to quietly grumble.

Joe: “Whatever. Anyway, did you get the lab results?” he asked Rell.

Rell: “I got them here,” he said while holding up the folder.

Rell placed the brown folder on the table and pushed it toward Joe. It slid smoothly across the surface until it came to a stop in front of him. Joe picked up the folder, flipped it open, and began to read.

Joe: “Did they tell you what they found or did you just grab this and come straight here,” he said while skimming the papers.

Rell: “I had a lengthy conversation with the lab worker.”

Joe: “Do you mind explaining to everyone the results?”

Rell: “I could, but…” he said as he looked towards Sandra.

Sandra glanced around and could easily tell they were about to discuss something she wasn’t meant to hear.

Sandra: “I can leave the room if this is private. But, we have to lock up all the books we have out here before I do. Since, you still haven’t gotten level four access yet.”

Joe: “No, that's fine. Rell, it's OK to just say what you found out. Sandra is helping us out and she knowing what we know won’t cause any problems.”

Rell shifted his gaze to Mike, his eyes expectant, waiting for him to weigh in with his opinion. But, Mike remained silent, offering only a nod of agreement with Joe.

Rell let out a long sigh.

Rell: “The alchemy department ran some tests on the slime we found. I thought it was mucus when we first found it, but it’s not.”

Dan: “What is it then?”

Rell: “It’s a type of slime mold.”

Joe: “Mold?” he said, sounding surprised.

Rell: “I know, I was surprised too. And, it wasn't just me. The people running the test were surprised as well. None of them expected it to be mold just based on its appearance.”

Mike: “Did they identify what kind of mold it was?”

Rell: “That was the thing that really confused the alchemy department. They identify it as a type of mold known as rot slime, but had none of the characteristics of it. Apparently, rot slime is supposed to be bright green and stink horribly, this type of rot slime we found was neither. They wouldn’t have even considered this rot slime if the test they ran didn’t confirm it. The researcher I was talking to thinks we might have found an entirely new species of rot slime.“

Joe: “Rot slime… I feel like I’ve heard of this stuff from somewhere.”

Rell: “Well, it is something used by researchers and necromancers. It apparently is mostly used to strip flesh from bone. It does this by eating only the soft matter of a corpse.”

Sandra: “Oh, yes. Rot slime is very effective at removing flesh from bones without damaging them. Excellent if you want to study the skeletal structure of an organism… or make a skeleton for necromantic uses…”

Joe: “I touched that slime with my bare hands. Am I going to be OK?”

Rell: “There’s nothing dangerous about rot slime, even this weird variant of it we found. It takes weeks and months to dissolve flesh.”

Joe: “Hmm, a type of mold slime that is popular with necromancers to clean bones. It's definitely leading down the path of possibly Rattle Bone cult involvement. I take it this stuff doesn't naturally grow in cities.”

Sandra: “No, I believe it grows deep in dark forests.”

Joe: “Is it cultivated at all?”

Rell: “Yes, but the only ones who cultivate it nearby is the university itself for various types of alchemical purposes as well as for research. And, the university has to do it outside the city limits, because of how foul it smells."

Mike: “That bad, eh.”

Rell: “Indeed, the researcher I was talking to said it smelled like something died twice over in its own excrement.”

Dan: “Ewwww,” he responded from Rell’s visual description.

Joe: “Is it possible you can arrange a meeting with the people at the university who grow this stuff?”

Rell: “Yeah, I could probably talk to the botanist division and arrange something by tomorrow.”

Joe: “Good. This might be our only legitimate lead right now. But, the question remains, why was it at the location of our suspects? For Larry, it kinda made sense. You said that rot slime has a few alchemical uses, so Larry selling it wouldn’t be strange, but that rot slime showed up in another suspect's home.”

Mike: “Also, this morning another Sleuth-Hawk group reported finding more slime in the location of another suspect's home.”

Joe: “Yeah, I heard. I was suspecting it before, but now I’m certain. Someone is taking out our suspects, making them disappear. If it really is Rattle Bone, then they're probably already dead. But, we don’t know for sure. That slime is this weird factor that seems to be present in these three missing suspects. Could it be Jixi himself? But, if he’s a coward, that doesn't line up with his character. He’d most likely be hiding somewhere, and then why even eliminate these people? Even if we capture these people who worked with Sorin, the cat is already out of the bag. Whether or not they squeal, doesn't change Jixi's guilt.”

Mike: “It might be that these people might know where Jixi’s hiding. And, that’s why they're being taken out.”

Joe: “Hmm, that’s possible. Still doesn't line up with his character though.”

Dan: “Could the slime be used to like, I don’t know, hide a body? Like dissolving their flesh and leaving only bone. Cause if we’re dealing with Rattle Bone cultists, they might kill someone and use the slime to clean the bones for easier transportation.”

Joe: “Too slow. Rell said it takes weeks to dissolve the flesh, and a Rattle Bone cultist would just collect the body whole and strip the flesh somewhere else. They carry around these things called bone bags that can store corpses.”

Joe sat there, deep in thought, sifting through the new information he had received. He carefully arranged the details in his mind, trying to connect the dots and uncover a pattern that would make sense of everything he knew so far. His instincts told him that someone was systematically eliminating suspects, and he felt more certain of it with each passing moment. Yet, the method remained a complete mystery. The pieces were there, but they refused to fit together.

“A strange slime mold that’s never been seen before. Hmm, maybe I should follow this up with a mold expert. See if they can give more details to work off. Does the university have an expert like that? Wait a minute, don’t I know someone like that?” Joe silently thought to himself.

It then dawned on Joe that he did know someone he could talk to about the strange variant of rot slime.

Joe: “I think I have a lead.”

Mike: “Wanna explain?”

Joe: “Later. I’m going to go look into this now. Can the rest of you stay here and keep working through this?” he said quickly.

Mike: “I guess? But, where are you going? It better not be dangerous.”

Joe: “No, just going to go talk to a mold expert we both know,” he said as he walked past Rell and exited the room.

Mike: “Do we know a mold expert?” he said, confused by Joe's comment.

Mike sat there, mulling over Joe's words, his mind still piecing together the rapid exchange that had just taken place. Suddenly, it dawned on him—he had just absentmindedly agreed to let Joe walk off, leaving all the paperwork for him and the rest of the team to handle. Joe had asked so casually and left so quickly that Mike hadn’t even registered what happened until now. The realization settled in like a slow wave, and Mike could feel his anger rising.

Mike: “That fucking ASSHOLE! He just weaseled out of this paperwork!!”