Travlack crept out of his bed the same time the sun arose.
As always.
He scooted out from the covers and let his feet - the Igosi stumps ending in short toes - hit the floor before walking to his mirror.
As always.
He inspected his face, his hair, his beard, and his stubby tusks as he cleaned his vertical eye slits still weary from their rest.
As always.
As he assembled his gear, his stone blue skin softly reflected the morning light. With his hands -
a broad three fingered pad accompanied with a thumb - he strapped his mace, blade, shield, and PRAC - a resonant firearm - to his belt.
As always.
A soft cloth rubbed along his large front facing ears, ensuring moisture reached from tip to base. One final check in the mirror as he adjusted his clothing. One more cleaning of his tusks. One more pat on the face to smooth out his hair - his eyebrows and beard were particularly troublesome.
As always.
Travlack finally stepped out of the mandated housing the DLF provided, double checking to ensure his badge was on him.
As always, it was.
He stared in the direction of the Jurona DLF office, just right down the road.
Just as it always is.
With military precision he turned the opposite way and marched towards The Vince.
Never had he done this before.
Travlack kept his usual pace as he marched towards his destination. He slowly turned his ears as he detected the sounds of the morning. Carts being wheeled into place, the murmurs of neighbors as they greeted each other, and the slow increase of DLF agents falling in line as they formed their squads for the morning report. Travlack kept marching along, aware of the eyes that occasionally turned to watch his walk. He had been in this city for a long enough time to know there was always someone staring at him.
He kept walking as his eyes glanced to and fro, observing the various people going about their way. It wasn't until a figure came into view that Travlack found himself staring as he walked.
Another Igosi.
In his 20 cycles of being stationed here in Jurona, sure he had seen a few. Whenever a mission called for travels to regions beyond central, maybe a handful more on average.
But this one? His body recognized the wrongness before he could name it.
A Dweller?
What was a Dweller Igosi doing all the way in the city? Dwellers belonged underground. Planeswalkers walked the world above it. Travlack had never seen a Dweller this deep into city stone. Was it the pale skin of his brethren? Perhaps the neatly arranged chestnut brown hair? For a Dweller, he was remarkably more put together than what he remembered.
Suddenly a rush of wind went past Travlack's face. Two Cuvios had passed him, and one pulled the other out of his way.
"Excuse me," he stated, without breaking his pace.
"Pardon me," the man spouted back.
As Travlack kept walking, he heard the other one speak, "I forget they live here sometimes."
As always.
Travlack made a note to himself:
Watch the Dweller.
He marched on towards the bridge that joined Jurona to The Vince, his ears tuning back into the sounds of the morning.
Before taking his first step to cross the bridge, his ears pivoted subconsciously as he heard the last part of a sentence.
"...that's insane. That's an entire war - more than what you're paying for."
Insane. War. Paying.
Travlack identified this immediately as a problem in the making.
As always.
He decided crossing the bridge could wait. He turned to investigate while taking his badge and stuffing it into his pocket. Immediately, Travlack identified someone who was pretending to read the morning news. A Dulim of the Valley - the cousins of the Peak. If there were no horns on the head, or enlarged forearms with resonance pores, then he must be of Tribe Urano - where their spines protrude from the body.
His eyes darted too quickly for a man attempting to read the front page. Travlack walked past the lookout and let his eyes wander in the window of the neighboring store. He then tried to focus on the conversation happening in the alleyway - the sound of the morning running interference in his task.
"This is much too costly."
"I can't believe I failed my entrance exam - how am I going to tell my parents?"
"I had to leave my office because my daughter let the serpifeli into the pantry again - in one hour it grew so large my bedroom wall fell down!"
Travlack exhaled, subtly twitching his ears as he kept staring at the display in front of him. To everyone else, it seemed as this Igosi seemed enthralled by a dress not made for his stature.
"- it's suicide. We're not equipped for that."
"Money isn't an object. Give us a price and I can get you what you need."
"It isn't about the money. A cadaver going missing isn't the same as a live one! If we mess up, there's no where we could hide! You can't pay me enough for that."
"The payment reflects the risk. If you don't do this, you're endangering an innocent life."
"Yeah. MINE. So excuse me-"
"I'm not asking."
Travlack's ears twitched as they lost focus of the conversation, a minor headache followed shortly after. The cost of precision, dutifully paid. The lookout had clenched his newspaper - it would be a challenge to read in its current state. Travlack subtly put his left hand onto the holster of his PRAC, and with his right he gripped the DLF badge in his pocket. With a twitch of the ear, Travlack put all of his focus onto the lookout.
Silence.
Then a shuffle, the tapping of a foot.
A ruffle of clothing, an attempt to be stealthy.
The tapping of a metallic object?
Silence.
The hum of resonance stirred.
Travlack looked out of the corner of his eyes to see a dim blue hex circle slowly being woven by the lookout in the palm of his hand. Travlack slowly drew his badge and made eye contact, the lookout's eyes widened in response.
"DLF. Don't do it," Travlack growled through his tusks.
Halfway finished.
The lookout gritted their teeth and shook his head slowly.
"Don't get involved."
"Don't start anything."
Three-quarters completion.
"It isn't worth it," Travlack reasoned.
"I was just about to say the same thing."
The resonance hex reached completion. The blue circle lit up and hummed with a dangerous vibrance.
Travlack drew his shield, the lookout crushed the hex. A combination of light and smoke filled the section as onlookers screamed and ran out of the way. Travlack backhanded the smoke with his shield, clearing his vision. He mentally logged a larger Zenith man with his left half covered by a coat, the lookout now surging with resonance, a Cuvio woman with beige skin and black hair with a drawn PRAC, and a masked figure holding a PRAC of his own. Travlack took the time to fan another section of smoke with his shield arm as he drew his firearm.
"DLF! No one move!"
All four alleyway participants looked down to see Travlack with his shield up and PRAC pointed in their direction. The Zenith man took one step back, but the other three in the alley tensed as they looked among themselves.
The lookout looked to the woman, the woman looked to the figure in the mask. The mask revealed no tell as the figure stayed still. Travlack twitched his ears, someone's PRAC was slowly gaining charge and it was not his. In a swift motion, the masked figure aimed at Travlack and fired. Travlack backhanded the shot with his shield and drew his PRAC to return fire. The lookout raised a barrier as the masked figure drew a flare and immediately shot it into the sky. The lookout and the woman fired on Travlack as the Zenith man stood behind them, determined not to get involved.
Travlack concentrated resonance into the chamber of his PRAC. The translucent glass began to light up with a cool blue before he fired. The lookout held a barrier up in between the recharging of the woman's PRAC, deflecting the bolts that could have hit their mark. Travlack glimpsed to see the masked figure scaling the back alley wall for a clean escape.
Travlack cursed as he swapped to his mace and rolled into the alleyway. Charging with his shield, he clashed against the lookout's barrier, making the man skid back. Travlack took his mace and broke the barrier with an overhand strike, he then followed up with a pulverizing backhand with his shield.
As the lookout slid against the wall of the alley, the woman had finished recharging her PRAC. Four shots of bright green pierced the air. He charged her, carrying her towards the back wall. After a couple of steps she hit the wall with a devastating crack, and sank to the ground.
Travlack turned to the Zenith man, preparing for resistance.
But he was staring past Travlack.
He whipped around, and at the opening of the alley were reinforcements - five of them in total. All holding PRAC pistols and rifles aimed at Travlack.
"Now that's hardly fair," a voice called from above him.
A pair of boots hit the ground in front of Travlack and the Zenith man. With a flick of the wrist, a thin tube snapped into a full length spear. A badge sat comfortably on his belt.
Another Inspector.
"Surrender yourselves for processing. This is your only warning."
The thugs at the opening of the alley opted instead to fire upon this new inspector.
As always.
A barrier rose in front of him. The volley of shots deflected harmlessly into the sides of the alley. The man shook his head and ran his fingers through his indigo hair. His lighter blue fingers rubbed the sides of his face as he heard a voice from where he had just dropped from.
"Mishki-ch-emisha! I won't even get a warmup with only five of you!"
Another silhouette above Travlack. It divebombed towards the source of the PRAC fire with lethal precision.
"I got them, William! Woah - hey! Here's one to the plexus!"
"Uriel - goodness - Uriel! Watch your flank!"
Perfect hexagonal barriers flickered sharply around her. The outline of the pattern intensifying where bolts from the PRACs would have intersected with her body. A flurry of light violet fists was all Travlack was able to track between impacts. A Dulim of the Valley, for sure. She spun below a strike and transitioned into an elbow. It landed, center mass on her target.
"These are lightweights! No way they could hurt me!"
"Not the point, Uriel."
William ran to join the fray. Travlack turned to the Zenith man, his gaze remained on the fight. He sensed no intention of resistance. The mace and shield found their home back in the straps of Travlack. He turned to pick up the woman laying unconscious on the alley floor. Once she was hoisted, he walked towards the lookout who was just beginning to wake up.
"DLF. Don't move."
The lookout glanced around him. A wave of defeat came on his face as he slowly raised his hands from his place on the floor. Travlack looked up to see William and Uriel taking down the last of the assailants.
William dragged a thug in each arm and laid them down next to the lookout. Uriel tossed her three on the ground next to him.
"Done, done, and done! Where's Valyn? She said she'd meet us here."
"Posura yae."
A woman armed with a claymore strolled into the alley. Her cool pale skin reflected the light of the morning as her desert blonde hair swayed slightly. Travlack paused. The tattoo on her right arm belonged to the Kurashi Van Pale Raiders. Travlack was unaware of anyone in the DLF from that background. In one hand she dragged the masked figure. In the other a mango tart - half eaten. William smacked his lips in disbelief.
"You stopped by Armed and Delicious?"
"She was dehydrated, William. Her sunsacs are supposed to be black."
Valyn tapped her neck. Her neck markings were gray. She took a bite of her tart before speaking.
"I found this one trying to escape. Then I had to write a ticket for the owner of a giant bat puppy. Armed and Delicious was just a block over."
"Oh it smells so good! William, we have to go. Plema shae!"
"The paperwork alone will take the better half of the afternoon. That and processing all of them. Uriel, fire the flare."
"Which one? Is blue for collections? Is it green?"
"Blue one," Travlack affirmed.
"Grakana, Travlack - wait… Travlack!"
William, Valyn, and Uriel turned to Travlack. Uriel loaded the flare and fired.
"Oh - Inspector Travlack - good morning," said William.
"Good morning. What about Zenith?" Travlack motioned to the man, now standing at the end of the alley.
"The Zenith has a name, Inspectors. It's St. Zedir. Ashton St. Zedir."
He walked towards them with his right arm up. The woman Travlack subdued earlier was waking up now.
"Get him away from us! His arm! His arm isn't normal!", she exclaimed.
William and Valyn immediately looked to Uriel, she focused intently on St. Zedir.
"Nothing. It's … daemaca. There's no resonance flowing through that arm at all."
Valyn tossed the masked figure onto the pile of defeated foes.
"Don't cause trouble", she warned in between bites. "DLF authority will be here to process you soon."
St. Zedir sauntered past the group, giving a light bow.
"I'll see myself out then, Inspectors. Good day-"
"I was talking to you too," Valyn stated. She had not turned around.
St. Zedir exhaled as he came to a stop.
"Valyn's right. sir. We'll need your testimony of what happened here," William chimed.
St. Zedir turned around, glaring at them. He gave a performative sigh as he leaned against the alley wall.
Travlack was not bound by such formality, however. He marched on.
"Appreciated. You have it from here."
Valyn and William gave a nod. Uriel waved him off as he walked away.
"Fikash, Travlack! I heard you got assigned to some wicked stuff! Tell us about it when you come back!"
The tips of his ears flicked together as Travlack kept walking. An Igosi "thank you", seldomly expressed. A squad of DLF agents ran past him towards the alley. Travlack didn't break his pace, he was already late.
This never happened.
He reached the double doors of the first entrance. He then made his badge ready for the identification check in the administrative area. Without a word, he was allowed to pass through the second set of double doors. He walked towards the information desk and tapped the bell.
"Name and purpose of visit," the attendant stated.
"Coordinator Cooper. Where is he?"
"Identification please- huh?"
The attendant had expected to meet someone nearer to his eye level.
As always.
Travlack twitched his ears. The attendant stood up in his chair to look over his desk. There stood Travlack, staring back at him. He blinked once.
"You must be… Travvack?"
"Travlack."
"Travlack! Yes - Coordinator Cooper is out right now but his office is up the stairs! Third door when you walk to the right hand side of the ring."
Travlack was on the final stretch of his morning journey. Step by step, the Igosi warrior got closer to his destination. He stood in front of the door and reached for the knob. It was here he paused.
Very seldom had he paused and not willed it.
After a quiet moment, Travlack stepped through the door. Sitting down was a being he identified to be a Cuvio. He was scribbling on a map fervently.
"Oh - hi there I'm Bosh. Nathaniel Bosh. And… and are you the Igosi I almost bumped into this morning? You'd think I'd be sure with how rare it is to see one in the city but I don't want to say all Igosi look the same. However it is remarkable how common some of your features are-"
"Travlack."
"I'm sorry?"
"My name is Travlack."
The man identified as Nathaniel Bosh stammered for a moment before standing to shake his hand.
"Sorry for the rambling - first time leading an interregional survey."
Travlack looked at the hand extended before him. How often was it that someone reached for his hand?
Almost never.
Travlack slowly raised a hand to meet Nathaniel's. Just as they were about to meet, a body came through the window. Hurling glass in the space between the two men that landed on the far wall of the office.
"Finally! I'm in! Don't start the meeting! I'm here!"
A pale green woman with pink hair armed with climbing hooks dragged her way between them. She looked up with all the excitement someone crawling on glass could muster.
"Bosh! Good to see you! And an Igosi! Man, this is going to be really interesting!"
Nathaniel shook his head before turning away from her. Opting instead to sit down and go back to drawing on his map.
"Good to see you too, Boshy."
Travlack could see her pointed ears and maroon spots on her neck. Stim sacs. Its ornate pattern let him know she was a Jade Yervite. She turned towards Travlack.
"The meeting didn't start yet, did it?"
"No."
"Oh. In that case, let me tell you about the morning I had!"