[Job - Artemis & Zen] Criminal Rumours

Zen had decided to do what was impossible for him, in his 'previous life'. Travel and explore the world for more recipes and helping people along the road. The town of Cedar wasn't on his list just yet, thus he was just passing through. While he was just passing through, however, he did stop by to refuel himself. The town had a sort of traditional feel to it, one could maybe even say outdated, in a sense. A dominant of the town being a church, being guarded by knights and things like that. The air was filled with the smell of fish and sea. For a cook that meant that there should be enough of fresh seafood. Zen wanted to try some of it.

The town was bustling with activity. It was still very much a clear day. The young man weaved between the people. At least there weren't too many people, so the streets weren't so crowded. Zen came across some street vendors. Most of them sold various items such as framed pictures or clothes. He didn't have to look for too long for a streetfood vendor, thankfully. The young man stopped in front of the vendor, eyeing the selection of meals. For a handful of Jewels, he decided to order two variety seafood skewers. He walked up to the vendor and placed his request. Shortly afer, he was armed with two, beautifully grilled skewers that had a mix of seafood on it. Zen decided to stand close to the vendors, but out of the way of the people walking by. Near a shop next to him, he noticed a small group of three older ladies, who were approaching the shop. Once they got close enough, he thought that he would be overhearing some old women's crap, but it was much more interesting than that. "Have you heard? There are criminals running about, here." The two other ladies gasped. "No no, Marge. The guards would not let any criminals run loose." A lady not named Marge would argue. "Then you haven't heard that a guard went missing." Oh? The two ladies gasped slightly louder and nervously shuffled. "You think they could kidnap us, too?" /"Who would bother kidnapping an old hag like you?"/ Zen thought as he shook his head. "We should go to the church next, then. Offer a prayer for our protection." One lady said and the others murmured their agreements and the group left.

The young man frowned and finished his second skewer. /"Pray to whatever god you want, but if that rumour is true, he won't help you."/ What Zen just overheard seemed like a genuine problem. If it involved even a guard disappearing, the criminals must've had it out for them. Zen wasn't sure if it would be wise for him to just approach a guard on his own and start spewing information that felt confidential. He could just do it on his own, but that would probably be encroaching on business of officials. The young man would throw away the skewer stick into a nearby bin and place a hand on his hip in thought.

Art stepped of the family yacht as it pulled into Cedar, taking in the crisp air he smiled. Leaving the skipper to handle the paperwork of docking a spot. As he proceeded along the harbour into town, he would have to take some time to enjoy the sight here, he imagined they must have so good restaurants along the seafront, maybe he could find himself some good company, preferably one with a hot figure and cracking set of legs. Although he wasn't that she he would have time, he was after all here with a purpose. One that didn't actually require him to sample some of the locals or their cuisine.

Back at Black Rose, rumours had reached them that Cedar was placing host to some 'suspicious' activity. Activity that was predominately of the kidnapping of officers and so he was sent to investigate the rumours and see if they were true. Were these guys missing? How they been kidnapped due to some criminal organisation? What was the purpose of kidnapping officers? He was specifically ordered not to take any further action to, just find out what he could and report it back to the guild. They would then decide what was to happen next, whether he would end up pursuing the criminals himself or it be resubmitted to a different member was yet to be decided. Based on how well he did with the job. For once, Artemis actually wanted to handle something properly, to show his guild what he was capable of, that he could be useful to them. He hadn't yet done anything especially impressive so, this was an opportunity worth taking.

Artemis strutted along the peer in the direction of town, taking in the sights as he went. The sun was high in the sky and there were bodies everywhere. The locals and tourists clearly taking advantage of the good weather. Art looked around the streets, monitoring the people as they went by. Fortunately he was pretty good at blending into a crowd, so he wasn't drawing any special attention to himself. He decided just a subtle questioning of the locals would probably be best. He started off with a few guys at a food stand, but they brushed him off with comments like 'missing police? good riddance.' and 'maybe they'll take a few more while they're at it'. He had politely smiled and left, deciding this guys were beyond useless.

He walked further along, spotted a haggle of ladies chatting about it. Their words caught in his slightly heightened hearing, he listened to the chat. They didn't seemed to knew anything, only speculation, so he decided to approach them. As he glanced around he spotted someone, someone...out of place. There was something about him, the way he looked on at the women. Was he listening in? Artemis smirked, this was an interesting candidate to ask. So he approached, putting on his best mask of friendly mannerism. Art stepped up to him, "Good day Sir, My name is Artemis. I was wondering if we could have a chat, there's been some suspicious disappearances in the area lately. I was wondering if you may have any information you could share?"

Zen was still deciding on what he was going to do. But luckily for him, it was already decided for him, when he was approached by a young man. Quite the looker, aswell. Zen listened to the other man's request. He was slightly surprised to be asked about something that he had just heard about, but perhaps that was the idea. At least he was polite about asking for such information. Zen would nod. "Well, I'm no local. So I'm afraid that can't give you anything real to go on." He would cross his arms on his chest. Since all of the information he had was just pure speculation, the young man was willing to share what he knew, without any additional price. "I only know what I overheard from the old ladies." Zen would motion towards where the ladies were previously, before they left with his head.

"Supposedly there's criminals running around and that a guard went missing." Zen would share the truly plentiful and trustworthy information he had. "That's all I have. Just some rumours from old ladies." It almost made him feel shameful. He used to be much better at listening in to people in the past. He would have to re-polish those old murderer skills of his, one of these days. "How come you're interested in such information, anyway? You have a score to settle? Or just looking for some work to do?" Zen thought it was a valid question. He himself was just passing through the town, but if those rumours would turn out to be true, he wouldn't mind solving a crime on the way. That was his mentality, though. He had no idea what this Artemis was truly after.

Artemis tried to get a read on the guy he approach, he could sense a little magical energy there, telling him he was a wizard. This enough was been one of the reasons he had been drawn to approached. Yet the decision to ask this guy seemed to be unfounded, as firstly the guy admitted to him that didn't actually live in this town for a start. He then went on to explain what it was he knew so far, which wasn't really any more than what Artemis what already aware of, that was frustrating to say the least. He didn't seemed to be getting very far with this investigation, he sighed. Maybe I need to try somewhere else. He thought, but he really wanted to get more information before addressing the guards directly. Maybe that wouldn't work in this case, were these criminals just that inconspicuous. Perhaps they had instigated fear into the citizens that knew about them, Art had a spell for that but it was pretty damn cruel. He didn't fancy mentally torturing the citizens in town. Even for information that would help him it seemed a little overkill. Reaching up he ran a hand in his hand, taking another look around. He heard the guy ask him why he was asking, and glanced back at the guy. "I'm on a job request right now, I work for Black Rose and they sent me to check on the situation to see if it needed further addressing." He replied smoothly, he knew full well that the guild had a reputation to uphold. This guy didn't seem especially threatening, so telling him would neither benefit nor hinder his progress.

"I see." So Artemis was a mage, who was part of the Black Rose Guild. That was useful information to know. At least Zen knew that he was dealing with an another mage and not just revengeful youth. Not to mention that Artemis seemed to be on an actual assignment for this situation, unlike himself, who was just a passerby that happened to overhear some rumours. That reminded him, though. "Ah, forgive me. I completely forgot to introduce myself." It was an old habit of his. In the back alleys, knowing true names of people held great value. You never used it, if you wanted to stay alive. "I am Zen. I belong to Sabertooth." The young man shared his name and the Guild with a light bow of his head, following Artemis' example.

The issue of missing relevant information was still pending, though. They only had those damn rumours to go on. Zen didn't want to tackle the part where they could ask some guards or officials, quite yet. Simple folk would have to do. Most of the time they held the best information anyway. Zen looked over to his right, scouting what the street vendor was selling. It was a middle-aged man, grilling some meat on skewers. The young man would briefly look at Artemis. "Gotta have to start somewhere." He would say and walk over to the vendor. The man looked up to Zen. "What is it going to be, lad?" He would ask. "Two chicken skewers, please." The vendor smiled and nodded. "Coming right up." He replied and placed the requested skewers on the grill in front of him. "Say.." Zen would begin as he crossed his arms on his chest. The vendor looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Have you heard those rumours? Quite unnerving, aren't they?" He would ask, completely innocently. Just casual banter to fill out the waiting time. The man would sigh. "I have, I have. Some of the people are genuinely terrified." He would say and flip the skewers. "Some criminals running around and having their way. Fairly recently I had a pair of guards order and they talked about it in hushed voices." That was getting interesting. "Go on." Zen would gently nudge the vendor to spill more. "They talked about how one of their collegues, who was investigating those criminals, went missing. They didn't say his name, though. You would probably have to ask them for that." The man would share what he knew. Zen would nod. "I see. Thank you for answering." He would thank the vendor who chuckled in response. "Quite polite, are you? You shouldn't have any issues with asking the guards, then." The man would say and hand Zen his order. Zen gave some Jewels to the vendor in return. With a little wave as a goodbye sign, he would approach Artemis. "The guards seem to be our only option, really." He would comment on the information he had just received. The young man would then outstretch his left arm, offering one of the skewers to the other mage. "Want some?"

When the man in front of him name Zen revealed himself to be a member of Sabertooth, Artemis raised a brow in surprise. That explained why he didn't carry himself the way normal folk did. Interesting... He thought, wondering if the guy could be useful to him. After-all, so far he was struggling with this job, maybe this guy might have something that would help him in some way. But the question was what, how did he get this guy to help? He could openly ask, but he didn't want to drag him onto the job with him if he was going to be a burden. He need to decipher how good the guy was before taking the risk.

Artemis's eyes followed Zen as he moved over to the vendor, observing curiously. His sensitive ears paying attention to the words exchanged. It seemed he didn't have to nudge the guy to help, he had gone for it regardless. The conversation proceeded to mention guards discussing the events, and clearly indicated they would be their best bet. Artemis shuffled a little bit, he was great at talking to people, but positions of authority, i.e police, knights, guards. They didn't tend to like him, he had the arrogance of a unruly teenager to them. Despite being twenty-two, they often didn't like his attitude, even when he was putting on the façade of niceties.

He watched as Zen returned to him, nodding at him remark. "No, thanks." He said declining the skewer. "You know, if you wanna join me on this job, I can fix the paperwork when I get back. That way you'll get paid, you seem to have a knack for this so." He offered to the guy. He had shown himself to be useful after all, plus the guy might have an easier time talking to the guards than him.

Artemis didn't take up Zen on his offer of food, so he finished off the remaining skewer, as Artemis told him about ensuring the pay for the job. If Zen had to be honest, he wasn't in it for the Jewels, but earning some extra never hurt. However, when Artemis said that Zen had a knack for this type of things, he wasn't too far off. But Zen also suspected that he wanted him to talk to guards, aswell. Talking to regular folk and squeezing information out of them wasn't too hard. But trying to pry information out of officials and guards was quite different. Zen couldn't imagine himself talking to one of those without his habit of tossing out various threats to ensure the validity of information he received. It seemed that he would have to give it a try, at the very least. That thought terrified him a little bit, as it would screw up the job and his Guild. "I'm just passing through the town, but I won't turn down a job opportunity. I can try talking to the guards, but bear in mind that I am no Mr. Charming." Quite the opposite, in his own, personal opinion.

Zen would turn around, trying to see if there were any guards in their vicinity. Luckily for him, there was a pair of guards walking towards them. They were talking to each other in hushed voices. As they were about to pass the two mages, Zen would step in front of them, making them almost bump into him, since they weren't paying attention. "Hey, move it. We're on a patrol." Said one of them, aggressively. They seemed like anything but being on a patrol. "I'm sorry to interrupt that, but I would like to ask you something." The guards exchanged looks and then looked back at Zen. "What is it?" Asked the other guard, less aggressively, but still quite snappy. Zen shuddered at the thought that these people protected the citizens of this town. "I wanted to ask about these rumoured criminals." The first guard rolled his eyes at the question. "Yes, we are looking into it. It will be solved, don't worry. Whether the rumours are real or not, we will see it through." A bold claim, for sure. There was still one missing link, though. "What about that missing guard?" The guards looked surprised. They surely didn't expect Zen knowing this little tidbit of information. "No idea what you are talking about. There are plenty of guards who go missing while working around here. There's... There's a lot of wild animals around here, you see." The second guard would say, who would only convince perhaps his grandmom about the truth behind those words. Zen wanted to press on them more, since it was obvious that they knew more, than they let on, but the young man knew that he would only resort to threats. The only thing that he wanted to avoid. The young man would look at Artemis, his eyes crying out for a little help with the guards.

Art listened as Zen accepted his offer to join him on the job, at least he got to share the workload. Not that it required much anyway, just collect what information you could right? He shrugged in reply, "That's fine, My charm has it's limits also. But maybe we'll be able to manage something." He responded. He looked around, hearing the approaching footsteps, he instantly recognised them men walking their way as guards. Although Art wasn't sure if this was a fortunate moment for them, it all depended on how it panned out.


Art waited quietly as Zen interacted with the two guards, the little exchange did not seem to go well. They guards seemed very unwilling to share any information with them, Art bit his cheek. Trying to think of a way to convince them to hand over any information they had, he spotted the look Zen gave him. Straightening up, there was only one person he knew who had a way with people like this, and as much as it' sickened him. He knew putting on the persona would be the only chance they had. Artemis put on his biggest and friendliest smile, anyone who knew if would recognise how unnatural it looked on his face.

"Gentlemen, Gentlemen. We're so sorry that we have to interrupt you hard and vigorous work day for such petty questions, to be honest we're collecting this information to ensure that this matter is truly one of purely scandalous in nature. To find out that there is stock is such rumours would be greatly disturbing. Frankly to attack such important members of society is downright preposterous, and utterly disrespectful. Not to mention the public opinion on such a matter, to have people thinking that guards are just weaker versions of guild mages suited with fancy looking armour. I mean, I actually heard some scumbag say good riddance earlier, the disrespect is baffling. I mean, who is the first ones called when they need help right?" The pompous and frankly butt-kissing voice he was putting on belonged to none other than his cousin, Gabriel. That little weasel that was trying to worm his way up the family hierarchy with a chin browner than mud. However this butt-kissing manner of speaking seemed to be causing a shift in the guards demeanour, they exchanged looks, clearly considering offering more information. "If we can put a stop to this, perhaps men like you actually get the respect and treatment you deserve." He added, attempting to drive it home.

Thankfully, Artemis understood that Zen wanted him to help with the guard situation a little bit. At first glance, Zen thought that Artemis was pretty good at sucking up to others and playing into their hands to get what he wanted. Although, he could also see that the other man was quite forcing himself to be excessively nice. As long as it worked, it was alright with Zen. The guards exchanged looks as Artemis finished his talk. They definitely had looks of consideration on their faces. The second guard more so than the first one. He would have to work that guard for the information they needed. to solve this mystery.

However, it seemed that that was not even neccessary. After the guards exchanged their looks, the second one smiled at the two mages. "Of course, of course we will help then!" The first guard frowned and seemed like he wanted to stop the second one from spilling the information, but the other guard just blabbered on. "The missing guard's name is Hans Shoffel. He was investigating the rumours." That was already worth it. A name carried a lot of weight, especially in the criminal underworld. "I think that he went to some shacks near the port." The first guard was getting impatient and was starting to look paler by the second. "He probably got a lead or something. Or maybe he ended up at the small warehouses at the edge of the port-" The first guard grabbed him by the arm, interrupting him. "Yes, yes. That is all of the information we can provide to someone from the outside." Sounded like a bit of a stretch to Zen. "We should really get back to our patrol, though. So that nobody else goes missing." That sounded awfully suspicious to Zen's ears, but he didn't think that the mages could spare time dealing with those two clowns. "Thank you for the information, nonetheless." The young man would give the leaving guards a small nod of thanks. "I hope you find him!" The second guard would wave at the mage duo as he was being slightly dragged away.

They had their primary lead. Zen wasn't entirely sure whether this missing guard went missing because he got too close to something or just by being in a wrong place at a wrong time, but they would have to check out the mentioned places despite that. "Well, I think this is the best we are going to get on this endeavour." The young man would turn to Artemis. "Shall we get going then? Before the trail goes completely stone cold." Zen would suggest at look towards where the port was located. The town was relatively small, so it wasn't too far off, but still a bit of a walk away. Although Zen did kind of worry for the second guard. The first one didn't seem too pleased with the information that he leaked.

If this impersonation of the cousin of his whom he hated with a fiery passion didn't work. Artemis would never live it down, to have to act like that pompous stuck-up kiss-arse even for the purpose of a job, made him feel queasy. Gabrielle was a disgusting slimy individual, desperate to climb up the ranks of the Dagger Corp. faction, and in complete envy of Artemis's position of inheritance. Because Artemis was a direct heir, son of Mephistopheles oldest Lucarius Dagger. The order went Lucarius, then Artemis and Art's siblings following this. Gabriel was like seventh in line for the position, a very unlikely occurrence.

However, as sick as it made him, it seemed that pretending to be like the slime-ball did not fail him. The false praise of the guards work seemed to win over at least one of the guards, causing him the spill the beans about a missing guy named Hans Shoffel, along with a potential location. Artemis smile excitedly, finally something solid to work with, finally they could make some real headway with the mission. "Thank you ever so much good sirs, best of luck with your duties." He replied, turning away from the guard. He moved along with Zen, distancing himself from the guards.

"Sounds good, let's head to that location he said, warehouses at the end of the port huh? Shouldn't take us long." He said, his demeanour returned. He didn't quite like having to act that way but it got the job done. "It's a good thing too, I don't know If I could have kept it up much longer. I hate kissing up to people, especially ones that don't deserve it." He said, he wasn't especially fond of guards or rune knights. Nor their attitude towards the public. In Arts eyes they didn't do much to handle the real issues the world had to offer, just handled the smaller things, only really got involved when it suited them. Otherwise, passing whatever they could of to mages. Most of them were jokes, but still, some of them were okay. The few that actually wanted to help people, so Art wasn't completely unwilling to lend his hand. For them to be going missing, this had be at least something serious enough for a mage to get involved with. It sent a big message, and didn't leave people feeling very safe, especially if figures of authority were being snatched up so easily.

They headed back towards the port, in the distance Art's powerful eyes spotted the warehouses at the far end. "Hopefully this shouldn't get to that point but, as a mage of Sabertooth, I presume you'll be able to handle yourself if things get dicey?" He asked Zen, he didn't want to have to look after the mage if for any reason they were attacked.

Artemis gave the guards one last good suck up before they left completely and agreed to the plan of heading to the port. Though it seemed that Zen's suspicions were correct, in the way that Artemis put on quite the façade that he didn't particularly enjoy, understandably so. The two mages made their way towards the port. It didn't take them too long and as they were getting ever so close, Artemis asked him about his combat abilities. Zen was considered as a mage of Sabertooth, yes. Had he ever used his magic before, though? No. He wanted to get a hold of it, before he would try using it for self-defense or any other type of combat. That meant that he would have to rely on his wits and throwing knives. Zen always hit his mark, but he reckoned that things would be much different, now that he was among the magical folk. "I can handle myself well enough, don't worry." The young man would reply. Just a smidget of a lie in there, but it wasn't like he wasn't telling the truth.

The two mages would reach their destination. Even if the port was small, it was still relatively busy. Staff, sailors and merchants ran about their businesses, paying no mind to the investigators. It was time to put that thieving wit to use. Good use, this time. Their current target were some warehouses that presumably housed a variety of trading shipments. They had a lead on some shacks near the warehouses aswell, but they could worry about that later. If the warehouses didn't check out. It sounded so cliché, though. A warehouse as the base for a bunch of rumoured criminals. There had to be more to that tale. Again, it would be better if they focused on the task at hand, instead of the greater picture, for now. The mages would have to blend in, somehow. Zen wasn't quite sticking out from the crowd, but it was apparent that he was not a native to this town. "We either blend in with other people, or we go quietly and unseen." Zen would propose ideas to Artemis, as they neared their ultimate destination. "I stick out quite a bit, so I am fine by finding a stealthy way inside the warehouses." He would share his own intentions. Sneaking around unseen and robbing or murdering people used to be his profession, after all. On the nearest warehouse Zen's eyes already spotted a weakness in a form of a slightly opened window with an easy route of approach to boot. "I already spotted an opened window that I could use on this first one." He would motion towards the first warehouse. "You wanna come with or should we split?" Splitting up didn't sound like the brightest of ideas, but Zen felt like he needed to ask. He didn't know whether Artemis preferred to work safe or fast.

Art nodded at Zen's response to being able to handle himself, he wasn't exactly exuding the cockiness that some higher level mages he had met normally would. Yet, he knew full well some were better at hiding their level of power, he wasn't about to assume anything, not until he saw the guy in action. His uncle was one of those mean who appeared to be a weak, emitted nearly no magically energy and yet had the ability to bring down buildings in a single swipe of his arm. It was eerie, personally Artemis thought he enjoyed the shock on people's faces when he got to display his surprisingly level of power. On the other hand if Zen wasn't that strong and wasn't able to handle himself, that would be on him. Artemis would just have to see what happened and take it in his stride, he wasn't especially fond of protecting people, but he would if he had to.

Once they arrived at the destination, Art's scarlet eyes darted across the area, taking in all the details he could. It was pretty busy considering this was supposed to be a area of suspicious activity, perhaps they were trying to maintain as much normality as possible, or perhaps the guard had sent them to the wrong location. He turned his head to listen to Zen as he discussed their options, "Quiet and unseen works for me," He replied, the less attention drawn the better, "In and out, if we get caught I can create a big enough distraction for you to move out. I also have a disguise of sorts so they won't know who I am." Despite saying that, he really didn't want to resort to bringing Morte into this. Doing so would probably result in an unnecessary level of damage and brutality, they wanted to handle this swiftly and so far the demon was staying quiet. Art concluded that he was just watching, he doubted he was capable of sleep. Morte seemed to know everything that Artemis did.


"Let's go together, I'd rather us be able to cover each others backs, plus we don't know the lay out of the place. It'll be harder to meet back up if we separate." He answered, it wasn't that he didn't trust the guy, it was just he didn't know what his capabilities were. Art knew how many guards he'd be able to take on if it got dicey, but this guy, he wasn't sure. Either way, he didn't feel comfortable leaving the guy to his own devices, at least not on a mission Artemis had brought to him.

The young man would nod at Artemis' choice of staying quiet and unseen. Zen preferred that option over trying to blend in. When Artemis said that he could create a distraction if things got too dicey and use a disguise but would rather refrain from doing so, Zen would only nod again. "Duly noted. Let us hope it doesn't come to that." He would say, also noting that Artemis said that they should rather stick together, to be able to better cover each other. It sounded very much reasonable.

Zen switched from his usual walk, to his usual thief walk. He knew exactly how and where to step in the shoes he wore so that they produced almost no sound, as he made his way over to the first warehouse. There was some old, rusted scaffolding on the outside and a few rusted metal linings that weren't holding onto the building anymore and just sticking out into the air. The warehouse had definitely seen much better days. The young man would make his way over to the scaffolding. There was a rusted piece of a ladder, but it was too high up to jump to. It probably wasn't even the best of ideas, since it would probably break and fall under Zen's weight if he had jumped and latched onto it. Instead, he decided to just parkour up the bars, hoping to reach the upper levels. "You can come with me or cover my six and be on a lookout for some suspicious activity. I don't think they would make their den in the very first warehouse, but one never knows." He would say and partially turn his head towards the other mage, as he felt around his jean's pockets. /"I could've sworn that I brought some knives with me..."/ Zen wondered as he rummaged through the pockets on his coat, finally coming upon a very familiar object. "There we go." He would murmur to himself as he took out his signature throwing knife. They were custom made, specifically for him and his taste. Zen still remembered the day he placed the order and the moment he picked them up for the first time. They helped him out many a times before and he was counting on them there aswell. Zen put the knife between his teeth and bit down, to keep hold on it, so that his hands would stay free. He did cut his face a fair bit of times when he grabbed a knife in too much of a hurry. Hopefully it wouldn't come down to that. Zen would get a bit of a running start and jump upwards when he got close enough to the scaffolding. He grabbed onto a bar that creaked at the sudden pressure, but it held out as the young man made his way up the rusted bars and slightly rotten wooden planks. The scaffolding itself wasn't too tall. It was just the right height for Zen to be able to get to the slightly opened window he spotted before. The young man would look over the mostly metal wall, as he was trying to work out the most optimal path to his target. Safety was not the most priority for him, this time.

Just like that they had a plan in action, walking in their direction of their targeted spot. Quiet and unseen, it shouldn't be too difficult to manipulate. Artemis could either create a great scene or blend completely into the background if he wanted to. He was just good at manipulating the crowd around it, it was just a skill of his based on his various childhood experiences. Artemis had spent much of his youth, sneaking around, climbing out of windows, creeping past guards and wandering off into the night to attend parties or meet up with girls. Needless to say being light-footed wasn't an issue for him, he had gotten a lot of practice. He followed Zen as he moved along, it was clear that Zen was in his element. His demeanour almost seemed to shift as they began to sneak towards they targeted means of entrance. It was an intriguing sight, Artemis wondered what kind of history the guy had to be good at sneaking around.


As they reached the rusty scaffolding, Artemis raised a brow, standing back to watch Zen in action. he watched as the guy somehow manage to jump out and clamber up with ease, Art looked around, making sure no one was nearby. He glanced back up, listening to Zen as he gave him the option of following or staying down on the ground His sized up the scaffolding, in his current form he might have been able to manage it. It wasn't like he wasn't fit enough to pull him up, but it was still a stretch. In Demon form he would manage it with ease, but once again that was a last resort. There was also the possibility that the scaffolding would give way and they would both fall. Which would mean potential injury a long with the drawing of unwanted attention. Based on these musings, he made his decision. "I'll stay down here and keep and eye out. If you spot anything, I'll come up." He said. He watched as Zen proceeded to climb up, every now and then scouting the area for anyone walking by. His sensitive ears would be able to hear the sound of anyone approaching anyway, but if they were caught. It would be easier to subdue them from the ground, they had to make sure no one knew they were sneaking around after all. That would jeopardise the entire mission. Art glanced up, seeing that Zen was near the window now, if he managed to get in that would give Art the chance to climb up with less risk. At least this is what he suspected.

Artemis chose the option of not scaling the scaffolding and staying on the ground, watching Zen's back. If Zen was to spot anything suspicious, Artemis would come by and check it out aswell. Now that they had their roles, Zen was going to fulfill his. He still had his throwing knife between his teeth as he jumped to an outstretched piece of metal. Zen was doubtful if it would hold his weight, but that was the only way to get to that window. Thankfully it held out, but only barely. Zen was prepared to use the knife if neccessary.

Zen's body was pressed against the metal wall, as he carefully tiptoed on the piece of metal towards the window. There was a rusting piece of metal jutting out of the side of the wall and the young man and to go under it. His balance got messed up for a second, but he instinctively grabbed onto the knife in his mouth, pulled it from between his teeth and jammed it into the metal wall. No lips or cheeks were cut in making of that move. Once he had balance under control again, he pulled out the knife out of the wall and put it back between his teeth. A rather questionable decision, considering it was just stuck in rusted metal, but as long as it wasn't bloody, the young man could live with it. Zen finally got to the window. It was slightly above him and it wasn't big enough for him to just simply peer through. He had to use his knife again for extra leverage to pull himself up to the window, using its bottom where it was slightly opened as another leverage. He was half-holding and half-hanging on the bottom of the window, peering inside.

The warehouse wasn't too large on the inside, but it was rather poorly lit, with a number with stacked boxes and various other containers, divided into groups. Zen didn't see anything or anybody suspicious, as it was empty and was ready to get back to Artemis, when he spotted a moving shadow of the corner of his eye. His interest piqued, Zen remained at the window, even if it was getting somewhat painful on his hands and arms. A figure appeared from behind a stack of boxes, moving about, silently. Zen couldn't see anything that would resemble a worker's uniform on the person, so that sent a signal of suspicion into his mind. The young man's gaze followed the figure, as it walked towards the back of the warehouse and disappearing behind a stack of containers. Which was strange, since Zen couldn't see any room in that direction. There really was no other room than the warehouse itself, in fact. The young man reckoned that they got a solid clue worth investigating.

As swiftly as he could, the young man made his way back to the scaffolding and then jumped off of the rotten wood, landing on the ground. Zen would approach his job partner as he put away his throwing knife. "The inside is just a poorly lit room with several stacks of boxes and the like. I saw a figure that didn't seem like a worker disappear behind one of the stacks in the back. I reckon that there may be a trapdoor into a basement area of sorts." Zen would explain to Artemis what he had seen. "I would've called you, but the figure disappeared too quickly. There wasn't too much to look at other than that." He would continue. "I think that seems like a good place to start the search." Zen would say, as he eyed the warehouse. "Did you find out anything? Or do you want to go in and check it out, first?" Zen would ask for Artemis' opinion. This was supposed to be a cooperative job, so Artemis was free to choose his own path, if he wished to do so.

Artemis leaned against the wall, lifting his left foot and resting his heel against the side of the warehouse. He allowed his body to relax, taking slowl deep breaths. He knew his senses were good but when he focused they were even better. He could hear much more than a normal human, the soft padding of steps in the distance of people walking past the warehouse. The light chatter of various folk going about their day. His crimson eye's had a clear view of everything around him, even the slightest movement, would be caught in his vision. He took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose. He could smell the sea nearby, the salt that lingered in the air, the scents of the working bodies nearby. Somehow a familiar smell seeped in, his furrowed his brow in concentration. He knew that smell, he knew it well. Blood... He looked around, trying to figure out it's source. It wasn't that close but it was there. Art looked up, Zen was making his way back down the scaffolding. Art watched as the Sabertooth mage dropped down, landing nicely in front of him.

Art listened to the information he had heard, nodding along thoughtfully as he tried to work things out. "I can smell blood, it's faint but relatively near." He answered, a trap door was a likely scenario, these warehouses covered a wide base area. Wide enough to have a big enough basement to work with, whatever unsightly operation was going down. It was very possible that this would be the means of tracking down a result for their investigation. "Let's check it out, the closest I get to the blood the stronger it'll smell. If I can smell it more once inside, we'll know we're on the right track." He said, he eyed the scaffolding. It seemed they would both needed to climb it. He eyed it for a moment then an idea came to mind, he reached up.

Stretching out his palm, he grinned, he didn't need Morte for this at least. From his palm a black thorny vine flew forth. Rising up into the air, the vine curled upwards, wrapping up over the edge of the window. "Meet you up there." He said to Zen, shooting upwards, he began to scale the wall. Reeling in the vine the further he climbed, his feet pressed against the side of the wall, it was a risk move. If the thorn came loose he could crash to the ground, either that or he would need to pull his wings out. But he really didn't want to do that, that he did need Morte for. Once he reached the window, he pulled himself over the ledge into the warehouse. Allowing a vine to dangle out the window so that should Zen need to use it to get in he could.

Artemis replied that he could faintly smell blood and if the scent got stronger within the warehouse, then they would be getting closer to accomplishing their task. Zen's senses were clearly not even close being as sharp as Artemis' were, so he trusted the information he was given. That meant that they had to make their way back to the window, to avoid getting caught at the front door. Artemis skillfully summoned a strange vine growth that he used to scale up the iffy scaffolding. Zen went after him, but he chose to scale the scaffolding itself. He climbed it once, he could do it again.

Both mages made it to the window in one piece, Artemis leaving behind a vine for Zen. He didn't particularly need it, but decided to take the other young man on the offer, as he swung himself inside the warehouse, landing on the dirty flood below him, tumbling so that his entrance was quieter and safer for his bones. Shortly after, Zen straightened himself up and dusted off his coat. The young man would press his back against the nearest stack of boxes, looking around the corner for any kind of movement, that wasn't Artemis'.

Since Zen's senses were sharp, but not even close to that of his job companion's, he decided to proceed forward, but slowly and quietly, weaving among the shadows. It didn't seem like there was anybody besides them, but one was never careful enough. They were supposed to be dealing with criminals, after all. As his steps were getting him closer to the trapdoor he had seen earlier, he thought that he saw a moving shadow, but thankfully it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. He would get close enough to the trapdoor in the back, that was guarded by a bunch of containers that hid its position. Zen would lean against the containers, so that he wouldn't be seen from the front, if anybody decided to walk in on them. There were signs on the trapdoor, that it had been manipulated with very recently. It lined up with what he had seen. "Did the smell get stronger?" He would ask Artemis in a hushed voice, that lightly echoed within the warehouse's metal walls, despite him being as quiet as he could.

Artemis glanced over to the window to watch as Zen climbed through it with ease, he had to admit the guy was pretty capable. He looked back at the room before them, sneaking forward, his crimson eyes scanning the area. His heightened vision meant that it would be difficult for him to miss any movement. The first thing he noticed was that tt was surprisingly quiet in the warehouse, was it not in use to day? Or was it always like this? It was suspicious considering it was right in the middle of a busy dock where goods were being stacked and loaded all over the place.

He stepped along with Zen, moving quietly, his foot stepping along softly. Making almost no
sound, he doubted that unless anyone had heightened hearing like him that they would be able to hear their approach. He took a breath, allowing the scent of the warehouse to fill his nose. It was more difficult it here, there was much more to sift through, such as wood, Oil, rusted metals and various other metals. Still the blood, it was there, lingering, albeit slightly more present than before.

As they progressed forward, Art wrinkled his nose, the smell was getting stronger. Artemis's gaze fell on what appeared to be a trap door, his brow dropped into a frown. He watched as Zen inched closer to it, clearly having noticed it also. He listened to Zen's question, before stilling for a moment. He couldn't sense anyone nearby, he stepped over softly, leaning down near to the trap door. He took another deep breath through his nostrils before glancing back at Zen. He nodded, before whispering. "It's definitely coming through here." He said softly, he peeked around the containers, no one was there. He moved around, leaning down, his pressed his ear against the trap door for a moment. "I can hear something... someone... whimpering." He looked up at Zen, contemplating his next option. Clearly something dodgy was going on past this door, and to find out what they needed would require going in. However if they went in, there was the possibility they would have a hard time leaving. "I'm going in, do you want to stay on guard or come with?" He asked. There was no backing out for him, he was so close to getting to the bottom of this, it was just a matter of moments.

Artemis confirmed Zen's suspicions that definitely something was going on down below. Saying that he did smell the blood he mentioned earlier and that he also heard somebody whimpering. Zen wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be happy that Artemis' nose led them the right way, or sad, that the rumours that circulated the town were indeed true. /"In any case, I need to remind myself to never try hiding anything from him."/ The young man thought amusedly to himself. It was clear that his job companion had much sharper senses than he had. Zen thought that his senses got chiseled quite well during the years of robbing and murdering people, but it seemed that he was behind on that aspect. He definitely could've used somebody like Artemis for his thieving antics in the past. But alas, the past was gone and Zen was grateful for that.

The other mage then gave Zen a choice. To stay behind and watch the trapdoor or go below with him. It was always a good idea to leave somebody behind to watch the entrance or exit points. But this time he felt like he needed to see the things through himself. Even if he was sort of dragged into the thick of things unexpectedly. So he decided to go against his better judgement for this once. "I'll go with you. I want to see what these criminals are on about." He would reply to Artemis and get closer to the trapdoor. It didn't seem like the heaviest of trapdoors that he had ever seen, but it held the sounds inside quite well. The young man would crouch next to it, ready to swing it open. There were two handles on two corners of the trapdoor, showing to which side it opened. If one was somewhat working out, the young man was sure that they could open it by themselves. Zen would grab hold of one of the handles. It let out a quiet creaking noise, apparent that it was either too tight of a fit for the metal parts, or the metal itself was partially rusted. He was unsure if he could lift it just by himself without making too much noise. "Want to do the honours together?" He would ask Artemis with a light smirk playing on his lips. He didn't know what exactly they were throwing themselves into. Zen imagined that there would be at least two people present, the silhouette that he had seen before and the whimpering subject. Hopefully no more than those two, if even them.

Artemis waited for Zen's response to his offer, grinning at the mages decision. It seemed he had guys, that was good. Artemis wasn't particularly fussed about leaving the trapdoor guarded, he would likely be able to hearing anyone coming anyway. As long as things didn't get too distracting once they were through. With a nod, he looking down as Zen began to lift it. Art smirked back, reaching down, he gripping the edges, "Sure, on three." She said, "One, two, three!" He said pulling it open, he picked through. Her couldn't see much, there was a ladder coming down from the trapdoor , but there were more containers and shelves full of boxes in his site. Artemis pulling himself round and dropped down, quietly scaling down the ladder. He dropped to the ground lightly. The sound of the whimpering getting louder, Art creeped towards the sound. Staying close to the wall of the shelves as he snuck forward, He saw a gap in the boxes and peeked through. His eyes widened at the sight, in the center of the room was a man. Tied to a chair with chain bonds, a gag in his mouth, badly beaten and bruised. Art crept along further, peeking along, it seemed there wasn't anyone else here. They had just left him here unguarded. He thought in confusion. He took a breath, looking back at Zen for a moment.

Then turning he stepped out from behind the containers, the mans eyes widened in fear at the sight of him. He began to muffle loudly, Artemis ran forward, "Ssshh you idiot, we're here to help you. We're mages." He told him, the man stilled for a moment, seeming to calm down. "Look, I'm going to remove your gag, do NOT shout or I will have to hurt you and trust me. I'll do ten times worse than whoever else has had a crack at ya." The man nodded, as thought try to tell him he would comply. Art leaned back, trying to avoid the beads of sweat flicking off of the man's forward. Leaning forward, Art hooking his fingers around the gag, and pulled it out of the mans mouth. "Now tell us, who are you and why are you tied up here?" He asked firmly, straightening up and crossing his arms over his chest. He stared down at the man, he had no intention of freeing him until he gave them an decent amount of information.  

On Artemis' count of three, the mages swung open the trapdoor. Zen's companion was first to peer inside and enter. The young man followed. He dropped himself through the trapdoor, landing silently. His sight was met with another couple of boxes and shelving units stuffed with more boxes to keep the theme of the warehouse upstairs. Zen looked around, trying to see if there was anything that could be set up as a trap for uninvited guests. He saw Artemis searching for something, but Zen wanted to keep quiet, just in case, so he focused on his own search. After a brief inspection of the room's walls and shelves that were available, Zen concluded that no traps were present. At least non-magical traps. He couldn't tell if there was an invisible seal or something similar, as his he forced himself a limit on his magical abilities, which dimmed his magic finding abilities in return. Instead, it seemed that Artemis found something and the young man followed him.

They passed between the crates, appearing in an another section of the room. It was very soon apparent as to why the boxes were arranged in a such a way - there was a man sitting on a chair, bound and gagged. And also very distressed at their appearance as he started to give out muffled sounds. Artemis swiftly shut him up, promising help. That was why they were there, after all. The most pressing concern for Zen, however, was the absence of the silhouette and the seemingly unguarded kidnapped victim. Zen felt worried, but as long as Artemis didn't raise any alarms he thought that they should be just fine. The young man trusted his job companion's superior senses. Artemis asked the kidnapped guard to spill what has happened to him. The man looked quite frightened and beat up. With a shaky voice he would begin.

"They're all corrupted. Even the chief of the guards. I got too close to the ties that are between this criminal group and the guards. They kidnapped me to keep quiet or disappear I- I don't know." He spoke frantically, as if he was going to die in the next five minutes. But it was certainly getting interesting. Corruption in high places? That smelled like no ordinary criminals were tied to the case. "What's your name?" Zen would ask, for future purposes. A name held incredible value in the dark alleyways, afterall. "Han- Hans Shoffel." The guard would stammer out. Zen would nod in thanks, taking note of it. As it stood, however, Zen was of the thinking that him and Artemis were not quite ready to beat down a corrupted chief of the guards and possible network of criminals. "I was just doing my job, investigating strange occurences in this area. Next thing I know I have been taken away by my fellow colleagues." Hans kept on talking. The more information he shared, the better chances Zen and Artemis had to end whatever was happening within the shadowy background. "Please.. Get the chief, somehow and squeeze every bit of info he has out of him." The guard would say, not as a question, however. It sounded more of a command, of sorts. Zen wanted to comply, but there were some thing that they would have to do.

The young man would look at Artemis. "As much as I would love to do that.. We have to do something Hans." Zen would raise his concerns. "If we untie him and just let him go, they are going to find him again and the results will be far worse than these." He would nod downward, towards Hans, hinting at his poor state. "But is there a place safe enough for him to sneak off to?" Zen didn't know of such a place, since he was only passing through the town. What a troublesome adventure he had gotten himself into, though.

Art stared down blankly at the man as he spoke, listening to his explanation. It seemed satisfactory enough to confirm that the local police was corrupt. The question was just how did the corruption go, the complexity of the operation it would require to carve it out was greater than Artemis wanted to comprehend. The guy informed them that his name was Hans Shoffel, Hans then proceeded to order them to go after the Chief. Art raised a brow, here they were in this position to save them guy and he was barking orders. Art growled, "Ugh, this is why I hate cops," He muttered, he turned his head to listen to Zen's response, he also didn't like the idea of it. Artemis wasn't particularly phased about the prospect of doing the operation, it was just a lot of grunt work when all he had been sent to do was gather information. Take down an entire force of police, potentially fun but also risky. Plus his family had good connections in the police, if word got back to the Daggers that Art had been involved in such a fiasco. He wasn't sure how well the pill would be for them to swallow. On one hand it was prove to them that he was handling his own as a serious mage, on the other it would also cause political issues. Unless I make it seem like their idea.

He considered for a moment if they would go for it, the glory and credit for uprooting such corruption in a public sector. It would be a community service surely, something the Dagger Corporation favour. However it would also risk them making serious enemies, putting the company in danger of being attack. Not that the company couldn't handle itself, the Dagger Corporation had their own set of armed forces to contend with. However they didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to it. Art sighed, better to keep them out of this, instead he would consort with his other connections, the more sordid kind that hated the police. "I have somewhere I can hide him, a buddy of mine owes me a favour. He'll be safe there, well as long as he doesn't tell them he's police." He leaned over, "Think you can manage that? Don't talk, your voice is annoying, just nod for yes." He ordered, not wanting to hear any more of the guys rambling. "I need to consult with my guild about this chief of yours before we decide on any further action. So for now, let's get out of here, that means mouth shut okay dude." He waved his hands, black orbs appeared in the air, floating around the guy they orbs severed his ties allowing him to stand up. He went to say something but Art shot him a threatening look. He turned to Zen, "Think we can get outta here without drawing any attention?" He asked, so far Zen had proved to have good instincts, he trust he would provide an honest and concise response.

Artemis seemed to have been listening intently to what Hans had to say and thankfully had an answer to Zen's own question. The young man had no idea who this buddy of Artemis' was, but if he trusted him enough to toss a man in danger to them to keep them safe, it was all the approval Zen needed. The young man was glad that his job companion was also on the fence of readily going for the chief right then and there. To Zen it just seemed like more of a suicide idea, than anything, with the thing being the way they were. Hans did as Artemis had asked him to do, clearly eager to get out of this place. /"Nodding in approval can get a man quite far in a career."/ Zen thought to himself both amusedly and bitterly. He had seen and experienced both of the sides of the coin. After Artemis skillfully set Hans free of his binds, the question was to get out in one piece. And possibly with as little commotion as possible.

Hans looked around the room, as if he was struggling with something. He would then point upwards and mimic with his body as if he was opening a door or something. Zen watched the man, slightly baffled, but then he understood what he was trying to convey. "A backdoor, is it?" Zen would ask the guard and he nodded frantically. "Is that how they got you in here?" The young man would ask one more question and the guard nodded fervently, still. "I think it's settled, then." Zen would say and make his way out of the room below the trapdoor, followed by the kidnapped guard and his job companion. Hans' limbs were a bit shaky, so Zen gave him a bit of a hand when he was climbing up the ladder. After everybody was out, he would close the trapdoor behind them, as quietly as he could. In the meantime, Hans made his way to a stack of crates that were to the left of the trapdoor, almost at the very corner of the warehouse. When Zen got close, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, until he got a look from a certain angle. Then he could see a space between the crates and the metal wall of the warehouse. It was wide enough for one regularly sized person to go through with no problem.

Hans quickly looked at the two mages and entered the small corridor. Zen followed him. It was better if they kept their eyes on him, before something happened. The young man was glad that he wasn't afraid of confined places. At the end of that corridor was an another empty space, but this time behind the crates, instead to their side. The thing that they were there for, however, was present aswell. A rusted, metal door that had seen much better day. Zen would carefully open the door, making a bit of a noise, but with a door in such a sorry state it couldn't really be helped. Nobody was present outside, after he peeked to the sides. Not even that strange shadow that he had seen before. /"Wherever did that disappear to..?"/ On second thought, however, Zen was glad that they didn't meet it, whatever it was. "The air's all clear. I feel like it would be best if we split up for now, to lower the suspicion on us. Best of luck with Hans, though." The young man would smirk at Artemis and swiftly disappear from the warehouse. /"Perhaps our road will cross here again one day."/