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Investigations in Oplentis

In March of 2022, I had a few days off work, and I had begun to grow nervous about the writing I was doing. Specifically, I was afraid that I had fallen into the trap that many hobbyist writers and creatives do where they spend so much time thinking about lore and world-building that they never get around to writing their actual story.

With nothing better to do on my day off, I opened up Google Drive and started writing. Though it took me most of the day, I had a draft for what would become the story posted below. I had waited for a good artist to commission so that I had an art piece accompanying it, but that never manifested. That’s when I remembered all of the YCHs I had ordered from LittleBadWolf. I had never gotten a custom order from them before, though I knew they were open to it, and their turnaround time for my YCH orders was always lightning-quick. So I took a chance and contacted them for a custom commission order, and now they are my go-to when I need a commission and want it done quickly, without compromising quality.

This would become a consistent strategy for me as I continued to write my story, for better and for worse. At the end of the day though, whatever faults this tactic has are preferable to the idea of being stuck in lore-building mode without telling an actual story.

So many people out there are stuck with ideas that will forever be trapped in their minds, and I’m one of the ones who actually completed a story. I’ll take that as a victory.

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Those who work or study at the Theorum Magistrum are given housing in apartment complexes on campus. While students can be expected to cohabitate to save space, staff can often elect to live in their own one-bedroom apartments.

In one such dwelling, having wrapped up his lecture one hour prior, Enigma has dressed down into a more casual white tunic, and brown breeches. Placing a few red mana orbs in the receptacle on the side of his oven, the device immediately warmed to precisely the correct temperature. Having already seasoned his cut of chimera steak, flanked by a medley of student-grown vegetables, he used his pair of tongs to place it gently on the center rack.

Timer set, the wolfkin had moved over to the apartment’s living area. As he prepared to sit down and read the latest chapter in the “Detective Greyfang” series, a knock resounded from his front door. Though he wasn’t expecting visitors, his powers already told him who was waiting for him outside. Opening the door to his greet his guest, his lips had already formed the words.

“Ed?”

“Teach, can I come in? I wanna ask ya ‘bout something.” The young, muscular tigerkin, in his loose, revealing ‘variant’ on the school uniform, was fidgeting with nervous energy, words coming out as his hands brushed the back of his brilliant yellow shock of hair.

“Certainly. I hope you don’t mind, but I just put dinner on.”

“No biggie.” Though he tried to hide the distress, it still crept into his features as he stepped into the room. Pointing to the couch in the living area, Enigma welcomed his protege to have a seat as he checked on his meal, before sitting down in the seat across from him. Crossing his legs, leaning back into his chair, his experience guiding the young man taught him that with Edmund, it was better to be direct.

“What’s on your mind, Ed? The last time I saw you this nervous was the day you asked me to be your mentor.”

“Actually, it’s funny ya mention that. It’s parta why I asked you in the first place.” Without missing a beat, the mind mage knew this was his opening.

“Your father, right?”

“How di-?”. Edmund caught himself before he asked a question he already knew the answer to.

“I’m a mind mage, and a detective to boot. It wasn’t that tough to figure out. When you were a child, he stopped coming home and left you to fend for yourself, and to this day you never figured out why.” The way he spoke, it was as if he had been reading directly off a dossier.

“Yeah.” The tigerkin looked down before repeating the word. “Yeah.”

“You wanted someone to hone your magic, but more than that you wanted the help of Detective Enigma to crack the case.” As his student began his retort, Enigma raised his hand to silence him, and Edmund knew better than to interrupt. “Lucky for you, the kid and the case were both too fascinating to pass up. I knew you would ask me eventually, so I started looking into it in my spare time.” At that, the storm-mage apprentice’s crestfallen look had brightened, like the sun shining after a vast downpour.

“You have!?”

“Oh yes. It wasn’t easy. People from the Magistrum have to be careful when wandering Oplentis, but I started digging into what happened.” Getting out of his chair, Enigma heard the buzzing of his kitchen timer and rushed to retrieve his food from the oven, leaving it on the counter to give it time to rest.

“You know how ta cook chimera steak?”

“My parents were traveling merchants. We knew how to cook whatever we could get. Trust me, it’s not my first time. When it’s rested, you’re welcome to have some.” With that taken care of, the wolfkin host strolled over to the filing cabinet he kept in the corner of his little ‘office’ space. Retrieving a file labeled ‘Azurium’, he handed it to the young man. “I might not have taken the case if I knew you were Oplentian. Their leaders don’t take kindly to Magistrum-folk muscling in on their territory.” He flashed a knowing grin at his student.

“Heh. As if the wolf from the detective stories would give a damn about that.” As he opened the file, Enigma began to narrate its contents.

“Captain Azurium of the Oplentis’s 15th precinct, father of one Edmund Azurium, has spent the past ten years winning the affection of the civilian populace through intense, comprehensive reforms within the department he commands, addressing complaints of excessive violence from members of the force. Though he initially faced staunch opposition from his subordinates, the naysayers under him were quickly quelled or otherwise let go.”

Looking back and forth between the file and his professor, the young tiger interrupted, “But teach. I already knew that much. Everyone back home did.”

“Of course, no apprentice of mine wouldn’t have at least done some legwork. That’s only the surface though. If you look deeper, you’ll find that this period of reform started after he returned from a one-month leave of absence. According to staff who were let go around that time, the Captain was noticeably different.”

“You mean aside from the fact he abandoned me?” The young tigerkin started to clench his right hand into a fist, fighting back tears. Enigma could barely contain himself, moving to sit beside his pupil, putting an arm around him.

“Ed…” Gathering himself, Edmund took steady breaths and relaxed his mind as he’d been taught many times before.

“I’m fine, thanks. You were saying?”

“Right.” Returning to his explanation, the mind mage continued. “The abandonment was one thing, but the other was a more pronounced physical change. Take a look at these images.” Pointing with his finger, Enigma drew attention to two pictures in the file, one was the father figure that Edmund remembered being proud of once upon a time. The other was a dire impersonation… fierce, almost scary. Whatever happened to him made him cover his left eye with an eyepatch, and he looked harder than Edmund ever remembered.

“Okay, big deal. Dad changed over the decade after he left me. Whatta ‘bout it?”

“This transformation occurred during the month he took off. That’s what he looked like the day he got back.”

“W… what!? How!?” Edmund couldn’t even begin to hide his shock.

“I’m not sure, but I’ve been looking through the reports involving your father before he went on leave…. Don’t ask how I got them. And one of them sticks out to me.” Once again, he directed Edmund’s attention, this time to a report of an apothecary, The Fox’s Formula, investigated for suspicion of illegal activities.

“What’s so suspicious about that? Back home, everyone had a ‘side hustle’ of just to survive.” As he spoke, Edmund cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at his mentor.

“Yes, I got that impression during my time there, but look closely. Someone took great lengths to bury them, but there are multiple cases of people who, after visiting this place, started to grow distant from their friends and loved ones. Sound familiar?”

“Ya think that’s why my dad left?”

“It’s possible. I didn’t find much information about the proprietor though. All I know is that he goes by ‘Volpes’, and he looks like this.” The image showed a fox with glowing bichromatic eyes, and a height and muscular build well outside the norm for his species. “He’s still listed as a person of interest, but I couldn’t figure out for what.”

“This is… the best lead I’ve had in a decade. Teach, I dunno what to say.”

“Say that you’ll be careful and let me take the lead on this. I want to help, but we’re doing this my way.” The protege flinched, ever so slightly. He wanted, more than anything, to leap into action, having been denied progress for so long. And yet, the consul of his mentor taught him better. Common sense and fear of losing this lead won out, and the tigerkin took a heavy breath.

“Okay…”

A smile crossed the detective’s face. “Perfect. Now, I think my steak has finished resting. Would you join me for dinner? I usually just have leftovers the next day and chimera steak isn’t the greatest reheated. The meat gets too chewy.”

“I’d be honored, teach.”