Sitting at the old wooden dining table within Eliot's house, Lucian dipped a tea bag into a small cup that Lilith had handed him earlier. Eliot sat at the short end of the table flipping through various papers whilst Lilith sat right across from Lucian.
Following his quick scan through, Eliot set the papers down and finally spoke, "I apologize for calling you here so early in the morning, missions have gotten a little more complicated with these strange events occurring and we need to make sure they don't get away from us."
Lucian set the string down, "Don't worry about that, I want to get past this tribulation as much as you do."
"Your right about that, we can't subdue threats like these if we're under our blankets till eight.", Followed Lilith.
Eliot smiled and pulled out two small envelopes from the stack of papers, "Much appreciated, I'll make sure to keep this as brief as possible for you. As you both know, the strange occurrences that we've been unable to figure out include, Mr. Kartours death at one of the harbors, Orion Kartour's strange mental resistance, and the murder at the church. The reason I've called you both here is for a recent trouble occurring in the small coastal town of Nedwick not too far from here. On the information that I've gathered, an unusually large number of corrupt spirits have been reported to have ended up being invasive in that area. All I need you two to do is head there for a quick one or two-day trip over there for a small investigation. There isn't any need for an Ethereal so you guys will be okay as long as you bring a firearm and blessed salt."
"How should we go about this mission?", questioned Lucian as he brought the warm tea to his mouth.
Eliot slid the two envelopes to both assistants, "All you two really need to do is investigate the surrounding area for any sort of unusual activity that may be directly or indirectly causing the invasiveness of the spirits. These two envelopes contain everything that's happened so far with the spirits so use them to connect any dots that may appear while your there. As for transport, you'll have to go by carriage so our regular coachman, Bulen, will be taking you guys there to oversee you both as well as to cut costs."
"Sounds great, when should we leave?", asked Lilith. She sounded a bit more enthusiastic than her usual self.
Eliot made his tone a bit sterner, "In a few hours just to let you grab things like finances and a bit of clothes. Make sure to meet back here when you're done. With that you're both dismissed."
Later that morning, Lucian and Lilith arrived back at Eliot's home holding small cases of clothes and a bit of money, though of course, Lucian wasn't the one with the money. It seemed that carriage had been waiting outside patiently while Eliot seemed to be having a small chat with the coachman, Bulen.
Bulen was a man of tall stature and obedient demeanor. The man always carried a certain readiness to himself which made him seem like a bounty hunter of sorts even though his dressing wasn't at all what bounty hunters would dress in. The man wore a strict black suit almost all the time and on rare occasions he'd be wearing just his undershirt and tie. His hair was slicked back with a few grey strands visible whilst rectangular, silver lined glasses angled a bit low rested on his nose. To Lucian's surprise, Bulen was actually an Ethereal but strangely he only works in supervising or evaluating those on missions.
Both Lucian and Lilith waited patiently by the coaches' entrance not bothering to intrude on their boss's conversation. "You think they're talking about us?", Said Lucian quietly.
Lilith shifted her stance, "I don't suppose they have anything else to talk about besides maybe antiques."
Lucian made sure to keep his chuckle quiet, "I don't think they're at that age quite yet, though they may have a few more years to go."
Eliot seemed to notice the two containing their light laughter and ended his chat with Bulen. "You think it's wise to joke about a superior's old age, do you?"
Quickly composing herself, Lilith fixed a loose hair strand and replied, "Of course not, we were merely admiring your ambition."
"You know I can see every thought in your head, right? Also, Lucian's facial expression isn't exactly boosting your credibility." Eliot was indeed not one to be fooled. "Putting aside your little joke, you guys are all set to go. Bulen may assist you on certain parts of your mission if they prove to be dangerous but other than that this is an official mission for you two. Also, based on the mission type, you may traverse further on your paths to becoming official Ethereals."
Excited to hear the news, the two politely nodded their heads and entered the shabby carriage. But, just as Lucian hopped in, Eliot tapped on his arm. "Along with the ones I gave you and Lilith, this one is only meant to be read until after you've completed your mission." Eliot finished sifting through his coat pocket and handed Lucian a small, well-kept letter.
Lucian seemed a bit more eager as he assured, "I'll be sure to do that sir. I promise I won't fail this mission like I did the last." Or at least I hope I don't.
"Alright then, I'll take your word for it. With this I wish you both a safe trip.", Said Eliot as he slowly closed the carriage door.
Once the coach started to move, Lucian took out his formal letter that Eliot had slid to him and Lilith previously. I hope I can finally put some of my development toward this investigation later. If I was to act like I did during my previous with Jade, then I don't think that I'd have the capacity to accumulate more shame. It's only been about a week since that fiasco with Mr. Kartour and the church members death but spending a bit more time around Ozzus and Eliot has given me a bit more confidence. Blaming anything on my memory loss isn't an excuse I can afford to use anymore now so I need to take responsibility and accept things that I can and can't do otherwise I may as well be an annoying rodent.
After pulling the folded slip of paper inside the envelope out, Lucian read the short background of the situation first. "Within the town of Nedwick, many reports of individuals acting strangely around others have been flooding the BSI. Some civilians have come to the conclusion that they may be on a certain drug or the more unbelievable course being possession which is the most probable in the eyes of the three organizations such as the BSI, Holy Mandate, and Ethereal factions." Lucian looked over to Lilith who seemed to be staring out the window calmly watching the passing buildings. The piece of paper sat next to her signaling that she'd already skimmed through it leaving Lucian perplexed as to why she seemed so mellow. For now, he just decided to brush it off and return to reading their instructions.
"It is unknown in which of the three spirit ranks have been invading Nedwick so you are to expect them to be of the highest ranks. The main objectives of this assignment are to safely and quietly exterminate the source of extraordinary beings or concepts currently affecting the lives of regular individuals. If you are to run into the Holy Mandate or BSI, then you are to operate only after midnight and until four in the mourning. Ethereals and assistants are to bring two essential tools for survival: being effective firearms such as a loaded revolver plus a charm or piece of jewelry containing blessed salt."
Lucian set the paper aside and let out a puff of air to try and process the simple yet scary information. I've at least got one of those items.
Fidgeting with his hands he tried to start up a conversation, "You think we'll do good on this assignment?"
Lilith took her eyes off the passing buildings, "Hmm, I believe this is one of the more simple assignments we'll be doing, though I've only been outside of the city once or twice before this. Even so, we should still be able to complete it without any halts."
Phew, I was concerned for a moment that both of us didn't know what we were doing. "I appreciate the assurance. Since were on the subject of the task at hand, is it crucial for both of us to carry firearms?"
Confused, Lilith replied, "Do you not have one? Every one of us is supposed to carry a firearm during missions."
"I don't have a license so I couldn't have a gun even if I thought to get one." Lucian was silently panicking and wondering if they needed to turn back.
Lilith pointed down at Lucian's cheap bag that Ozzus had given him, "Check your bag, I don't think Eliot would have forgotten about something so crucial. Even Ozzus should have known that you needed a weapon and given you a heads up."
Lucian sifted thoroughly through his small bag, taking out spare clothes and his book "King of the outside" that he'd planned to read in his free time. After a couple seconds, Lucian's hand felt something harder than clothes and much more rigid than any leatherbound book. What was inside was definitely a gun and a pristine one at that. Lucian took his right glove off and inspected the item too puzzled to even cough up a word. Its metal was cold to the touch, containing a celestial pattern on it whilst the wooden handle was a dark red. Right above the handle was a fierce and fully loaded 6 round cylinder ready to fire at any time.
What was even stranger was that there was a small note tied to the handle. Opening it, Lucian found a small note reading "Thought you might need this. From Ozzus."
At this point, Lucian's confusion lightened because if it was from Ozzus then things that didn't make sense did. He held the note up and faced it towards Lilith, "I guess you were right about this one."
***
The ride to Nedwick wasn't too long and it also harbored amazing scenery like calm docks resting over the calm ocean, hills eventually stretching up into mountains, as well as less industrial looking buildings.
Bulen handled getting checked into a small inn near the north side of town while Lucian and Lilith got on with their mission straight away. The two assistants maintained a steady pace as they walked from street to street looking for any unusual activities pertaining to the supernatural. Asking around randomly would rise suspicion amongst the town's folk and neither of them could pose as authorities such as the Holy Mandate or BSI. This meant that only safe way they could discretely get through the mission safely would be to act as humble journalists looking to make a good paper.
It was about four in the afternoon so fortunately, many civilians were still out and about roaming the streets. In the midst of that, Lucian was much more composed than his last mission. Based on what happened with me, it should be quite obvious to locate individuals dealing with a spirit of sorts. People also seem to be wearing some sort of item on them containing blessed salt so all of them should be in the clear when it comes to this sort of thing. I've only been attacked by a low-ranking corrupted spirit before so the likelihood of mid or high-ranking ones affecting these people may be the most believable scenario.
Lucian took a look down at the small ring resting over his glove, "Hey Lilith, if one were to come in contact with a mid or high-ranking spirit whilst still wearing a blessed salt ring, would it be possible for spirits of those calibers to still be able to make an attempt at possession?"
Lilith thought for a moment before saying, "It's rare for a mid-ranking one to be able to but for a high rank, it'd be just about as easy as it is for a low-ranking spirit when the individual isn't wearing blessed salt. There are very few reports of any sort of spirit possessions within cities like Novus because of the abundance of civilians wearing blessed salt acts as a sort of poison. Think of it as smoke: the thicker it is, the more of a struggle it is to breathe, much less perform stamina draining activities. For a place like Nedwick, it'd be much easier for possessions to take place due to less of said smoke."
"Interesting, thanks for the insight." If I am to believe that it really is just an infestation of more powerful corrupt spirits, then it may just be the case due to lower amounts of blessed salt in the area. I do still need to be prepared for anything so I shouldn't rule things out just yet.
At that moment, Lucian noticed a man sitting up against the wall of a small building. His eyes were blank, although he was very much alive due to his periodic flinching. He seemed to be wearing pricy clothes making him look almost as dressy as Bulen although his messy appearance made him seem like more of a bum. Everyone on the sidewalks kept ignoring him either because they were scared or maybe knew something that the two assistants did it.
Prompted to go check on the man out of his own good nature and curiosity, Lucian decided to go up to him. "Hello sir, are you alright?", said Lucian, keeping a fine tone to not invoke fear.
Strangely, everyone started looking at Lucian with concerned faces as they passed by. A moment later, the man's jitters came to an eerie halt as he stared at Lucian with eyes of mindlessness.