Laure Kelper, the managing director of Kelpers Crafts and wife of Bartholomew Kelper, an important and wealthy figure in the Loen Kingdom, was well respected by her social circle and her 'friends'. She chose to stay in Bayam, claiming she preferred the salty air of the port town and the freedom it gave her instead of traveling with her husband, who was away most of the time.
Underneath that polished demeanour was a woman who frequently paid for private erotic shows at the Red Theatre and was known for making requests that made most shudder.
Most importantly, Mrs Kelper was the connection between the authorities and Queen Bass. Queen Bass handed her the money, and Mrs Kelper hosted parties where the bribes were quietly distributed.
Jacob Wilder knew better than to say any of that to the grieving Mr Kelper.
"Who would do such a thing?" Mr Kelper asked, dabbing his eyes with a tissue. "They carved out her eyes and her tongue! What would anyone even do with those?"
"There are certain organisations known for consuming human flesh. I've heard tongues are considered a delicacy," Knox said.
Jacob sighed, wondering once again how he had ended up partnered with a Mandated Punisher. Assigned by the Church of the Lord of Storms, Knox was a Sequence 7 Wind Blessed of the Sailor Pathway and his designated partner under the Treaty of the Churches.
"Someone's eating my wife?" Mr Kelper cried.
"The cannibal groups are not prominent in the Rorsted Archipelago. And if it were them, they would have taken the body whole," Jacob said calmly.
Both men already knew the husband was being kept in the dark. And those who were aware of Mrs Kelper's… extracurricular dealings knew better than to speak, lest they draw the attention of Queen Bass.
After offering a few hollow words of condolence, they left Mr Kelper to his grief and made their way back to their office, a shabby house at the far end of Acid Lemon Street. The churches called it discretion. Jacob and Knox called it cost cutting.
"Really? Cannibal organisations? The man's already falling apart," Jacob said.
Knox waved him off. "I thought he might panic and spill something instead of crying like a wuss. Did you do your freaky stuff?"
Jacob exhaled slowly. He had already invaded Mr Kelper's dreams, but found nothing unusual. Mrs Kelper had been seen alive the previous night by the servants and discovered dead the next morning.
Although it had been nearly eight hours since her estimated time of death, he should have been able to channel remnants of her spirit. The seers from the Church of the Fool had also failed to obtain anything through divination.
A truly peculiar case.
"Nothing," Jacob said after a pause.
Before he could say more, Knox had already turned into a bar. The Swordfish Bar.
"Knox, we can get a drink after we submit the report—"
Ignoring him, Knox walked straight to the request board and tapped a tramp pinning notice onto it.
The man turned with a grin, his rotting teeth exposed as the stench of alcohol and decay spilled out. Jacob instinctively stepped back.
"Knoxie boy! Been a while."
"Nice to see you too, Dunkin. This is Jacob, my partner. I heard you had a history with Laure Kelper."
Dunkin gave Jacob a brief nod before his expression soured.
"Don't speak of that wretched witch in front of me."
"That wretched witch is dead."
"I know." Dunkin smiled, shuffling closer. "It would be strange if I didn't."
He leaned in slightly.
"But I'll tell you this for free. I don't know who killed her… but I'm grateful to the man who did."
Dunkin grabbed the nearest mug of beer and downed it in one go.
For a brief moment, Knox noticed his gaze flick toward someone else in the bar. Someone unseen.
A new habit.
"We'll see you around," Knox said, pulling Jacob along as they left.
"So what was that about?" Jacob asked once they were outside.
"Dunkin has history with her. He knows something," Knox replied. "We'll let you do your freaky stuff on him later."
Jacob couldn't help but smirk. His partner might be insufferable, but at least this one could pull his weight.
At the 'office' on Acid Lemon street, Knox laid out two photographs on the table. One was Dunkin and the other was a woman with dark brown hair and a tanned complexion. "When it comes to information, there is no one better than Dunkin and Shark."
Jacob remembered that Knox was investigating the black markets and the gangs of Bayam, and he recognized the name 'Shark'. A woman so ruthless, every nation has their law enforcement working on finding evidence and arresting her. He heard that Shark will not hesitate to kill her own crew to keep secrets from leaking.
"The Shark is harder to catch, she keeps moving and she never gets dirty herself. She has two right hands. One is a Sequence 7 Warlock named Janica and the other is still unknown."
"Unknown?"
"Yeah. But with the downfall of King Oyster and the hit on Queen Bass's side, I believe that it is this unknown person's doing. The Shark is the only one who has everything to gain from their downfall."
Jacob was still studying the files given by Knox and the Mandated Punishers but he could connect the dots in what Knox was saying.
"You think our mysterious person is connected to Dunkin somehow?"
Knox raised his flask, taking a quick sip from it.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Word on the street, there's a king killer targeting them. And if Shark isn't in play, Dunkin surely is."
"I think we should watch them more. If our unknown man is a beyonder, invading Dunkin's dream can set off an alarm."
Knox did not think of that but he agreed with Jacob. They will have to watch the Seaweed Bar and the man named Dunkin for a while.
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Toilet Showcase on 55th Guava Juice Street! For more information, speak to Mr Harry at Amyris Leaf Bar! The Sonia Morning Post read. The article had been circled in what Sage hoped was brown ink and delivered to him by Dunkin just before the police showed up.
Wear a mask. Use a different name.
Dunkin's handwriting was as messy as ever.
Sage leaned back, considering. He had another day before Keith and Heidi arrived, and he had already given Dunkin a new task. Before returning to the matter of the kings, there was something else he needed to decide.
Being a Sequence 9 Criminal was already enough to conquer Bayam, unless one of the kings was at Sequence 7. But advancing meant losing more of his morality. Losing himself.
But what were desires, if not emotions intensified?
So what if he walked a path of evil? Being kind and righteous had brought him nothing. It had brought his brother and father nothing.
You may be true to the path. But you are not true to yourself.
He still had time to decide. But another question lingered.
How would he know he was ready to advance? And if needed, how could he speed it up?
Every time he committed a crime, every time he killed someone, he felt it. That warmth. That invading euphoria.
And his instincts told him something simple. The more he stripped away his humanity… the closer he would get.
"I was a man of honour. A man who lived by the sword. A man who wanted to protect the innocent," Sage said, watching the birds perched on his windowsill.
"But humans… Praise the Fool… they are only innocent at birth. It's only a matter of time before they succumb to sin."
The birds chirped, louder than usual.
"Only beasts," he continued, tossing them seeds, "you fluffy ones, are truly innocent. You do what you must to survive."
The chirping grew louder, almost like a response.
"Roar your hearts out," Sage said, slipping on his coat and pocketing his mask.
He had a toilet showcase to attend.