RAFAK ALIRI AND THE BOOK OF SHADOWS
A Metamor City Audio Drama
by
Chris Lester and Mildred Cady
with additional music by Marnen Laibow-Koser
Pronunciations:
ALIRI = uh-LEER-ee
LOM SHI'UN = LOME (rhymes with home) shee-OON (second syllable rhymes with spoon)
MEN MORANU = MEN MOR-ah-NOO
RAF = RAFF (rhymes with chaff)
RAFAK = RAFF-ock (second syllable rhymes with dock)
Täushung-haus = TAI-shoong HOUSE
VIORNERY = vee-OR-nur-ee
XIANG = see-AWNG
SCENE 1. ALIRI INVESTIGATIONS — INT.
[MUSIC: SOMETHING DETECTIVEY]
ALIRI
(voice over)
The wind blew down from the north on a cold April morning, and I knew I was in for a rough day. Most folks in Metamor City wouldn't know any different, but I'm a lutin. My people come from way north of here, in the hard, cold land of Inu Lutinaka. We ain't got much, by human standards, but there's two things we know better than anybody, and one of 'em's the weather. So take it from me: a north wind in April spells nothing but trouble.
You'd think I'd learn to take my own advice. Instead, like a sap, I headed in to work.
[SFX: DOOR BELLS JINGLE]
Aliri enters the office. BETTY, his secretary, is a sullen demoness bound to his service. Her voice is nasal and has harsh, grinding overtones, like Fran Drescher gargling broken glass while dropping spoons through the garbage disposal.
ALIRI
Mornin', Betty.
BETTY
Mornin', Boss.
ALIRI
(voice over)
Betty, my assistant. Two meters of armor-skinned daedra. She and I got a few things in common: we ain't from around here, we're about as pretty as a traffic accident, and we've got issues with authority figures. She's bound to my service for the next seven years — long story, don't ask — but we get along better than you'd expect. And she keeps the riffraff out of my office.
ALIRI
Here, I brought you a snack.
[SFX: Bag rustling]
BETTY
(surprised)
Chicken livers? Aww, Boss, ya shouldn't have.
ALIRI
Eh, don't get all mushy, it was on the way. Here, the Bowman case is ready to close. The Professor was right, it was the gardener.
[SFX: Papers sliding]
BETTY
Oh, nice photos, Boss. His divorce attorney's gonna love you. 'Course, *I* could fix Professor Bowman's problem a lot faster and cheaper—
ALIRI
(wearily)
No, Betty, I am NOT giving you permission to eat Mrs. Bowman. We're not in that kind of work, remember?
BETTY
I'm just sayin', you mortals make everything WAY too complicated. (SIGHS) But whatever the client wants, right?
ALIRI
Within reason.
[SFX: Door bells jingling again]
NEELA VIORNERY ENTERS. He is a darkly handsome, dapper, and charming man. He's also a tiefling, which means he's part daedra and part human.
VIORNERY
Hello, is this Aliri Investigations?
ALIRI
This is. Welcome, I'm Rafak Aliri, the proprietor.
VIORNERY
Neela Viornery, Alta Incorporated. It's a pleasure, Mr. Aliri. Here's my card.
ALIRI
Oh! Um, thanks. (PATS POCKETS) I'd give you mine, but, I guess I'm fresh out.
VIORNERY
Not to worry, sir, I already have your number. Do you have time to discuss some business? I apologize for not calling ahead for an appointment, but the matter is rather time-sensitive.
ALIRI
No trouble, Mr. Viornery. Step into my office and let's talk.
[SFX: Door opening and shutting.]
ALIRI
(voice over)
I took a minute to pour myself some coffee while I sized up my new guest. He wore midnight blue pinstripes like a second skin. His haircut probably cost a hundred marks, and his patent leather shoes were worth more than the rent on my office. Oh, and he had a pair of sapphire-blue horns that curled back like a goat's, and they were polished 'til they gleamed as bright as his shoes. THAT got my attention. Tieflings weren't uncommon in Metamor, but if Alta Incorporated sent one to my door … well, that was VERY interesting.
ALIRI
So, Mr. Viornery. What's on your mind?
VIORNERY
Well, Mr. Aliri, I'm an antiquities consultant. I'm hoping to enlist your help in tracking down some missing artifacts for a client of mine.
ALIRI
(figured something out, but playing it cool)
I see. Let me grab my notepad … all right, what are you looking for and where did it go missing?
VIORNERY
"Where" is easier to answer than "what," in this case. Have you heard about the recent passing of Ginger Scheel?
ALIRI
Can't say that I have.
VIORNERY
She was a high master wizard in the Rasmussen School of Illusion. A human. She died six months ago, at an obscenely old age, and like most wizards of her rank, she left behind a sizable collection of antiquities.
ALIRI
Oh, believe me, I know all about wizards and their "collections." What did she steal?
VIORNERY
That's where it gets complicated. It appears that between 1880 and 1920, Wizard Scheel acquired a set of valuable artifacts from a corrupt official in the Republic of Lom Shi'Un. Unfortunately, Wizard Scheel was not the man's only customer, and he did not keep records of what was sold to whom. We only know what went missing from the vaults and museums during the time he was in office.
Over the years, Lom Shi'Un has tracked down most of these artifacts. The remainder were presumed to be in Wizard Scheel's possession.
ALIRI
Why's that?
VIORNERY
Because Ginger Scheel was better at concealment magic than any other mage on the planet. She once made an entire mountain disappear, just to prove that she could do it. If she wanted something hidden, it wouldn't be found. Not while she was alive, anyway.
ALIRI
Ahh. So Lom Shi'Un loses a bunch of knick-knacks, they're pretty sure this Metamorian high wizard has them, but they can't prove it and nobody's talking. I'll bet they loved that.
VIORNERY
It was a sore point in Lomish/Imperial relations, yes. The Lomish government resigned itself to wait until Wizard Scheel died, then try to get them back from the heirs. Alta Incorporated was hired to help the family catalog everything and auction off the estate, so Lom Shi'Un sent a representative to work with us. We found a number of Lomish items — some displayed openly, some in small, hidden caches. A few old cups, a tea set, some art pieces — all ancient and valuable, to be sure, but nothing like the hoard we were expecting.
ALIRI
You think your boys missed something?
VIORNERY
We know we did. Two months ago the manor was sold to a housing developer. Earlier this week, they began renovations. That's when our seers suddenly detected the presence of a hidden chamber in the heart of the mansion. The developers must have broken the focus for whatever spell was keeping it concealed. But by the time we got there, the chamber had already been emptied. The owners showed us what they had recovered from inside, but again, the artifacts we sought were missing. We want to know who emptied the vault, what else they might have found, and where the items are now.
ALIRI
Okay. So. Let me make sure I've got this straight. A hundred years ago, some stuff got stolen from Lom Shi'Un. Some of it got found, some of it's still missing. Of the stuff that's missing, some of it MIGHT have been sold to Wizard Scheel.
VIORNERY
(interrupting)
That connection's pretty solid, actually. We have the payment records, we just don't have any descriptions of what she bought.
ALIRI
Right. Because buying knick-knacks is the ONLY reason a rich, powerful person would line the pockets of a government official. But let's say you're right, she DID buy something, and you just don't know what it is. MAYBE she doesn't tell anybody she has it. And MAYBE she never sells it or gives it to anybody else. And MAYBE she hides it in a magical super-vault. And MAYBE somebody steals it out of that vault before you can get there. Am I on track so far, Mr. Viornery?
VIORNERY
Yes…
ALIRI
Okay. So what I'm hearing is: you're looking for something, you don't know what it is, you don't know how long she had it, you don't know WHO took it, and you don't know WHEN they took it, WHERE they took it, or even if it was there in the first place.
VIORNERY
(embarrassed)
Um.
Aliri STANDS UP.
ALIRI
(angry)
Do you know what a "grelkin hunt" is, Mr. Viornery? Because I had my fill of those before I ever left the northlands. And if that's all you've got for me, THERE'S the door. You can use it yourself, or I can have Betty help you with it. Your choice.
VIORNERY
(flustered and placating)
Mr. Aliri, please! I assure you, this is NOT a scam, a diversion, or an insult to your abilities. If you're unconvinced of our sincerity, I am authorized to triple your usual retainer. In cash. Here, count it.
He HANDS ALIRI AN ENVELOPE stuffed with bills.
ALIRI
(pauses)
Triple? (blows out a breath) Triple. Gods. You're serious about this.
VIORNERY
As serious as the grave, Mr. Aliri. Lom Shi'Un has been waiting a very long time to bring these artifacts home. We want to help them.
ALIRI
Okay. Say I take your money and look into this for you. I got a few questions first.
VIORNERY
By all means.
ALIRI
First, why do you care about helping the Lomish? See, I know all about Alta Incorporated. You're a front company for the Lothanasi Order.
VIORNERY
(nervous laughter)
What? That's absurd!
ALIRI
Sure, sure. Look, you guys liquidated Tyria Kemmler's assets when she went down last year. I SAW her penthouse, and there were some damned expensive things up there that never showed up on the auction block. Struck me as a funny way to do business, so I did some digging. Turns out, you handle estates for a LOT of big, scary people, and what comes IN to your office ain't exactly what comes OUT. So who's got an interest in keeping big, scary magic off the streets, has the pockets to manage it, and wouldn't want to be seen doing it? Overprotective, plus over-funded, plus UNDER-handed, equals … Lightbringers.
VIORNERY
(pauses)
Even if what you're saying IS true, how is that relevant to the job I'm hiring you for?
ALIRI
That's what I want to know. Alta wouldn't be involved unless there was something dangerous. And the last time I got involved in finding a dangerous whatsit and didn't know the whole story, I ended up with two angry dragons fighting for the chance to turn me into lutin tartare. So: what aren't you telling me?
[SFX: OMINOUS MUSIC]
VIORNERY
(sighs)
The truth is … we don't know. But sometime between eighty and ninety years ago, Ginger Scheel's magic evolved in a rather unsettling direction. She began to exhibit powers that no illusionist had displayed in centuries. She became reclusive and paranoid. The papers she published in her later years … well. Most of them were so esoteric that no one could make heads or tails of them. Ginger Scheel touched something man was not meant to know. We believe the key to that forbidden knowledge was inside her hidden vault — and now it's loose in the world, and we don't know who has it.
ALIRI
All right. So that leads me to my second question: How'm I supposed to know what I'm looking for if I find it?
VIORNERY
Ah! In that, we're on firmer ground. The Lomish ambassador assigned an arcane attaché to assist in the artifacts' recovery.
ALIRI
(under his breath)
Acquisition.
VIORNERY
(confused)
I'm sorry?
ALIRI
(stage whisper)
'The ambassador assigned an arcane attaché to assist in the artifacts' acquisition.' Come on, man, don't start with the alliteration unless you're gonna finish the job! We got standards to keep up!
VIORNERY
What are you—
XIANG JINN enters.
XIANG
(amused)
Am I interrupting anything, gentlemen?
ALIRI AND VIORNERY
(startled, in unison)
Gah!
[SFX: SEXY, MYSTERIOUS MUSIC, POSSIBLY ASIAN-INSPIRED]
ALIRI
(angry at first, then slowing down, dumbstruck)
Who are you and what are you … what are … who … hoo, momma.
XIANG
Good morning, Mister Aliri. I am sorry to be so late.
ALIRI
(voice over)
If the woman who just walked through my door was late, it had to be because she stopped traffic. Her skin was vanilla creme, her hair a river of black ink, her eyes two shining crystals of aquamarine. Her ears came to delicate points that poked out through the raven hair — that and her coloring told me she was part Moon Elf. She wore silk up top and leather down low, and they clung to her athlete's physique like a ground racer on a winding mountain road. I took another look at those frost-fire eyes and reined in my libido hard. In my mind's eye, that mountain road had a bright yellow warning sign: DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD.
VIORNERY
(relieved)
No trouble, Ms. Xiang! I'm just glad you could make it. Mr. Aliri, this is Ms. Xiang Jinn of the Lom Shi'Un Republic. Ms. Xiang, Mr. Rafak Aliri.
XIANG
It is a pleasure, Mr. Aliri.
ALIRI
(CLEARS THROAT) Ahem. The pleasure's all mine, ma'am. Um — Mr. Viornery tells me you need some help getting back some state property?
XIANG
Indeed. Your skills as an investigator come highly recommended, Mr. Aliri. Sigrid Narvalla sends her regards.
ALIRI
Oh. Um. Great. Is she, uh — she a relative of yours?
XIANG
(chuckles)
No, Mr. Aliri, I am not a dragon.
ALIRI
(relieved)
Oh. That's good.
VIORNERY
Ms. Xiang is a master illusionist and an expert in ancient Lomish spellcraft. She'll be able to tell if you've found what you're looking for.
ALIRI
So you want me to drag in every knick-knack I find that MIGHT be Lomish? That sounds kind of impractical.
XIANG
No, Mr. Aliri. I will accompany you on your investigation.
ALIRI
Now, hold on a minute, doll. Nobody said anything about taking on partners. I work alone.
VIORNERY
I sympathize, Mr. Aliri, but as you yourself pointed out, that seems impractical.
ALIRI
So is having everyone staring at us! I can do what I do because everybody ignores the little guy. Nobody with a working set of eyeballs is gonna ignore HER!
[SFX: Shimmering magic sound]
XIANG
I assure you, Mr. Aliri, I can be very discreet.
ALIRI
Wha? Where'd she go? She was sitting right there.
XIANG
And now I am behind you.
ALIRI
Gah! (PAUSES) Illusionist, huh?
VIORNERY
(smugly)
MASTER illusionist.
ALIRI
(sighs)
ALIRI
(voice over)
I knew I was going to regret this. There were two things I'd learned to never trust: powerful magic and a pretty face. Now I had both in the same package — and worse, I had to work with her. Still, it was triple my fee, cash in hand, and that wasn't the sort of thing I could just walk away from. Not if I was gonna keep the bill collectors happy. So I left the retainer with Betty, got a "good luck" from Mr. Viornery, and headed out into the city … with my new partner.
CUT TO:
SCENE 2. TÄUSCHUNG-HAUS - INT./EXT.
ALIRI
(voice over)
Here's something you should know about high master wizards: There ain't a lot of them. Thirty-eight in a city of fifteen million, to be exact — though with Ginger Scheel gone, I guess it was down to thirty-seven. It takes a long time and a lotta resources to become a high master, so the ones who do have three things in common: they're rich, they're well-connected, and they're old. In Metamor, that means they usually live in the highest levels of the biggest towers in the city.
So I was more than a little surprised when Xiang Jinn gave me the address for Wizard Scheel's apartment: not on the fourth skyway level, but the first, the one just above the Street. It was the blue-collar part of town: below the daylight world of the skywalkers, but not quite the permanent darkness of the Street. Some people called it the Dusk Level.
It should have been an omen.
[SFX: Skimmer hum, descending]
XIANG
There it is. Cooley Tower.
ALIRI
Gah. Figures.
XIANG
Is something wrong?
ALIRI
(sighs)
No, I just … look, Cooley gives me the creeps, all right? Every time I'm in that place, I swear something's gonna jump at me from out of a closet.
XIANG
Wizard Scheel's manor is on the south side of the building. We should see the entrance in a moment.
ALIRI
Is that it? The one with the gargoyles?
XIANG
Yes. Wizard Scheel called it Täuschung-haus, the House of Deception.
ALIRI
Ugh. You see?! Creepy!
ALIRI
(voice over)
I'd seen the outside of a lot of mansions in Metamor City. There's a lot of people here with more money than sense, and a lot of the old places have what realtors call "character." In the case of Täuschung-haus, the character was apparently a washed-up old movie star who did a lot of drugs in her early years and burned out before she hit forty. The bas-relief sculptures were dirty and worn down, cracks riddled the steps and facing stones, and the front doors hadn't had a fresh coat of varnish in ten years. Scheel may have been a genius and a multi-millionaire, but clearly she hadn't been spending any money or brainpower on housekeeping.
[SFX: eerie music]
ALIRI
(voice over, contd.)
Things didn't get any better once we got inside. The developers were ripping out the décor with the gusto of a second wife trying to expunge the memories of her predecessor. Not that I could blame them, 'cause the place smelled wrong. I don't mean wrong like a college bachelor pad after finals week, I mean wrong: Like giggles at a funeral. Like thumps in your attic on a dark night. Like a crow in your window that won't stop staring at you. Like a reflection in the mirror that belongs to someone else. And I wasn't the only one feeling it, either.
XIANG
(reverently and warily)
There is powerful enchantment here. Not all of Wizard Scheel's works have faded. (PAUSE, THEN PRAGMATICALLY) You should probably avoid touching things.
ALIRI
(dryly)
Thanks, I never woulda guessed. Get that veil up, before somebody sees you. I gotta hit up the sniffer crew.
XIANG
As you wish.
[SFX: Shimmery magic sound]
ALIRI
Man. Wizards make it look so easy. Now, let's find a grunt who could use a break…
Down the hallway, a WORKER is trying to tear out a wooden fixture of some kind with a crowbar.
[SFX: Prying noises, groaning wood]
WORKER
Nnngh!
ALIRI
(calling to him)
Hey! Hey buddy! You need a hand with that?
WORKER
(grunting with exertion)
Hey! Yeah! This flamin' thing is bolted down inside that little crack down there. You see it?
ALIRI
(catching on)
Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Where's your ratchet?
WORKER
Here. Didn't do me any good, I can't fit my hand in there.
ALIRI
Well, you're in luck. My hands are about half your size. Let's see…
[SFX: Ratchet working]
ALIRI
There, that's got it. Lift on three?
WORKER
Okay.
ALIRI
One, two, three!
ALIRI & WORKER
NNNNGGGGGAAAH!
[SFX: Boom of heavy thing setting down]
ALIRI
There we go!
WORKER
Finally! I've been fightin' that flaming thing for an hour. Thought I could just forget about the bolt and pry it out of there, but the damned wood wouldn't break.
ALIRI
I'm not surprised! This is darkwood. Comes from my country. You woulda snapped your crowbar first.
WORKER
Damn! Glad you were here, then. Thanks.
ALIRI
Sure thing. Got a sec to help out a new guy? I'm looking for the sniffer chief.
WORKER
Nona? Yeah, I seen her this morning. She was up on the third floor, some kinda lab space or something.
ALIRI
Thanks, man.
WORKER
Any time.
ALIRI heads upstairs, XIANG following behind him unseen.
ALIRI
(under his breath)
Nona? Here? Nah, can't be.
XIANG
(under her breath)
Who is Nona?
ALIRI
Doesn't matter. If it were her, it'd be a hell of a coincidence.
ALIRI
(voice-over)
You'd think I'd learn to stop giving the universe straight-lines like that.
CUT TO:
SCENE 3: INT. TAUSCHUNG-HAUS — THIRD FLOOR LAB
Aliri and Xiang enter the lab on the third floor, where NONA CANDLE is working. She's a big, boisterous Breed (half-human, half-lutin) with a heart of gold and a talent for magic. She and ALIRI go way back.
CANDLE
(surprised and delighted)
Rafak Aliri, as I live and breathe!
She TACKLE-HUGS ALIRI.
ALIRI
(gasping for air)
Oof! Hi, Candle!
CANDLE
(laughing)
You old tundra rat! How the hell are ya?!
ALIRI
(still gasping)
Asphyxiating!
CANDLE
Oh! Sorry! Guess I'd better put ya down …
ALIRI SUCKS DOWN AIR in relief.
ALIRI
(amazed)
City hasn't made ya go soft any, has it!
CANDLE
Not if I can help it. So, you gonna introduce me, or what?
ALIRI
(cagily)
Introduce you?
CANDLE
Yeah, to your tall shy friend with the veil over there. Smelled it the second she walked in.
ALIRI
(amused)
Better come out, Ms. Xiang. This one never lets go of a puzzle.
CANDLE
(good-natured)
Let go of you, didn't I?
[SFX: Shimmer-magic sound]
XIANG
How did you know I was female?
CANDLE
Played the odds. Women usually do veils better than men. Hi, I'm Nona Candle, the crew sniffer.
XIANG
Xiang Jinn. What is a "sniffer"?
ALIRI
(to Candle)
Sorry, she's new in town. (TO XIANG) Sniffer's the local jargon for an augury specialist. They sense auras, sniff out stuff that people tried to hide.
XIANG
Ah. Another detective.
CANDLE
In a way, yeah. Though some days it feels more like being back in the mines: diggin' through a mountain of worthless junk for a bit o' shine. (TO ALIRI) So what's the hunt, Raf? You ain't gettin' mixed up in skywalker business, are ya?
ALIRI
What can I say, Candle? You remember the mines: Gold runs downstream.
CANDLE
(ironically)
Yeah, but most o' the yellow stuff rainin' from skyward ain't gold, shorty.
ALIRI
(laughs)
Cert!
XIANG
(very confused by all the slang and metaphors)
I think … something is lost in the translation.
CANDLE
Looks like we gotta circle back around for your partner.
ALIRI
Yeah, guess so. Look, I hear a big vault got cracked open here last week. That your work?
CANDLE
My team's work, yeah. Spence found it during the night shift, showed it to me first thing in the morning. The junk inside was so hot I smelled it 'fore I got in the front door.
ALIRI
Damn. How the hell did everybody miss it if the magic was that strong?
CANDLE
Spirits, man, I don't know! I walked by there a dozen times, and Spence finds it by accident when he knocks in the wall. Best damned veil I never saw.
XIANG
Yes, it would be. Miss Candle, we must know the name and address of every person who entered that vault.
CANDLE
(suspicious)
Now hold on, there, Moonflower. Raf and I go back a long way, but that don't give you a license to bother my people. Whadda you looking for, and what's your business?
ALIRI
(reassuring)
Business is mine, Candle. Alta Inc. wants to make sure they recovered everything shoulda been there. Miss Xiang's just a consultant to help me ID the valuables, make sure we sift out the shine from the mountain o' junk.
CANDLE
Ha! Yeah, you'd need that kinda help, Raf. I seen how you decorate: all the taste and sophistication of a drunk magpie.
ALIRI
What can I say, I'm eclectic. Will you help me or not?
CANDLE
Oh, all right. For old times' sake. After Spence found the place, it was him, me and the crew chief did the tally on the goods. That stuff all went straight to the owners. They skimmed off the shine and left the junk for us to pick over, same as always.
ALIRI
What did you find in there?
CANDLE
Ahh, usual mix for a crazy old wizard. Lotta odds and ends that look normal but aren't. More that look magical but ain't. Art pieces. Books.
XIANG
(suddenly interested)
What kind of books?
CANDLE
Old ones, in a lotta languages I couldn't read. Saw some Dragon-runes, some Elvish. A lotta Eastern writing of some kind, maybe Hanese or Yamatoan.
XIANG
Or Lomish?
CANDLE
Could be. I ain't exactly a cunning linguist.
ALIRI
(to himself)
Not what I heard.
CANDLE
Jealous, Raf? How sweet. And much too late.
ALIRI
Anyway –– Alta said they checked with the owners on what came out of the vault. Whatever they were looking for, it wasn't there. Any chance one of your boys skimmed something?
CANDLE
Nothing valuable. Look, we find a lot of abandoned stuff in places like this. Most of it's just old junk that wasn't worth the time or money to ship out. The guys take home some of it — bottles, plates, a few books here and there, maybe a picture frame or two. It's just gonna go in the trash anyway, nobody cares.
XIANG
(this is important)
What about the books? Did they take any of the books from the vault?
CANDLE
(thinking)
Yeah, now that you mention it, there was one that Spence had his eye on. It was bound in black leather, no title or cover page. Looked sorta like an old Canticle. I remember the writing — Spence showed me a bit of it. It used the Common alphabet, but the letters were shaped kinda funny, and the words didn't look like anything you could pronounce.
ALIRI
Sounds like a code.
CANDLE
Yeah, Spence thought so, too. That's why he wanted it — wanted to take it home, see if he could crack it. Guy's a nut for that stuff: spy novels, conspiracies, secret codes. Get him wound up an' he'll talk for days about it.
XIANG
Did you notice anything else about the book? Any distinctive markings?
CANDLE
There was a buncha scribbles somebody made in the margins. Looked like something halfway between Hanese and Elvish.
XIANG
Like this?
XIANG writes something on a notepad, passes it to Candle.
CANDLE
Yeah, that looks right! What is it?
XIANG
That is Lomish. Where is the book now?
CANDLE
Spence took it home, I think. Didn't have any magic on it, that I could tell. No pictures or formulas, either. Owners sent it back to us with the rest of the discards. Spence asked the chief for it, and he said okay.
ALIRI
Did Spence take anything else?
CANDLE
Not that I saw. A couple o' the other guys took some candles and a little knife. The rest went in the trash.
ALIRI
Xiang, did Alta check the dumpster when they came here last time?
XIANG
Yes, thoroughly. There was nothing of value.
ALIRI
Damn. Candle, I hate to ask this … but you said Spence was alone when he found the vault. Is there any chance he took something before you got there?
CANDLE
(offended)
Raf! What kinda scags you think I work with?! We ain't vultures!
ALIRI
I know, I know, but something about this doesn't add up. I got a client paying me triple 'cause they're sure something got missed, or misplaced, or overlooked, and the only lead I got is your guy Spence.
CANDLE
(still not believing it)
Guess you'd better go talk to him yourself, then. Here, I'll write out his address for you. But I'm tellin' ya, Spence is a stand-up guy. You're runnin' down a dead-end trail on this one, Raf.
ALIRI
Guess we'll find out, won't we? Thanks, Candle. I owe you one.
CANDLE
Yeah, yeah. Stay outta trouble, Raf.
ALIRI
Love to, but in my line o' work, that ain't very lucrative. See ya around.
CANDLE
(calling after him)
You better! (FONDLY, to herself) You crazy tundra rat …
ALIRI
(voice over)
Catching up with Nona Candle was all good fun, but the client wasn't paying me to reminisce with an old flame. So Xiang Jinn and I headed for Valley South Borough, and the apartment of one Mr. Michael Spence.
CUT TO:
SCENE 4: SPENCE'S APARTMENT - EXT.
ALIRI
(voice over)
Spence's flat was like a thousand others in the city, a little one-room efficiency place on the Dusk level. It was the middle of the day and the poor schmuck was probably asleep after working all night, so I promised myself I'd keep the visit short.
[SFX: KNOCKS ON DOOR]
ALIRI
Mr. Spence?
[SFX: KNOCKS ON DOOR]
ALIRI
Mr. Spence, I need to talk to you!
XIANG
Perhaps he is not at home?
ALIRI
Maybe, but why? This is prime shut-eye time for him, and you don't show up to a job like that under-slept.
[SFX: KNOCKS ON DOOR]
ALIRI
Mr Spence!
There is a MUFFLED GROAN from the other side of the door.
ALIRI
You hear that?
XIANG
Someone is there.
ALIRI
Mr. Spence! If you can hear me, open the door!
SPENCE
(muffled)
H-help … me …
ALIRI
Dammit! We gotta get this door open. I think there's a fire ax down the hall over there.
XIANG
No need, Mr. Aliri. Wait here a moment.
[MUSIC: "Hunt Pad", David Beard]
ALIRI
(voice over)
I'll never forget what I saw next. There was a shadowy spot in the hallway, a place where one of the lights had burned out and hadn't been replaced. Xiang Jinn walked over there and stepped into the shadow. And I mean she stepped into it — as in, one second she's there, and the next she's gone, like she just walked into a bank of fog. No sound, no flashy magic, just — gone. And a few seconds later …
[SFX: Opening door]
XIANG
Come in, Mr. Aliri.
ALIRI
Damn! Nice trick, sweetheart. How'd you do—
XIANG
(interrupting)
No time. He needs help.
ALIRI
(sickened)
Oh, spirits. Spence, you poor bastard.
SPENCE
Help me … please …
ALIRI
(low voice)
Don't move him, Xiang. Any o' those broken bones get turned the wrong way, he's gonna start leaking blood everywhere. Find his phone, call Emergency Services.
XIANG
(whispering)
Not until we find the book.
ALIRI
(angrily)
The book? A man's been beaten within an inch of his life and you're worried about a damned book?!
XIANG
(slowly)
Yes. Damned. If the book is what I believe it is, Mr. Aliri, then it is indeed damned — and we should all be worried.
ALIRI
(confused and shaken)
What are you — Look. We got no time to argue this. You got anything in that bag o' tricks to help this man?
XIANG
Healing is not my skill — but I can separate his awareness from the pain for a time.
ALIRI
Do it.
[SFX: Magical sounds]
SPENCE
(sighs in relief)
ALIRI
(to Xiang)
All right, that looks like it worked. Go look for your whatsit. (TO SPENCE) Mr. Spence, can you hear me?
SPENCE
(vaguely, like talking in a dream)
Yes. Who are you?
ALIRI
Name's Aliri, sir. I'm an old friend of Nona Candle.
SPENCE
Nona? Oh, Nona, I'm sorry. I should have listened …
ALIRI
Mr. Spence, what happened? Who did this to you?
SPENCE
Dorr …
ALIRI
Huh? The door? Yeah, sorry we came in uninvited like that, I don't—
SPENCE
(interrupting)
No! Dorr. Caine Dorr. Did this.
ALIRI
Oh, gods. You've gotta be kidding me.
XIANG
Who is Caine Dorr?
ALIRI
He's a loan shark for the vampire crime syndicate. Spence, you welched on a loan from the vamps? Are you outta your mother-loving mind?
SPENCE
Swoop races. Made some … bad bets. Nona always said it would … come back to bite me.
ALIRI
Well, she got that right.
XIANG
The book is not here.
ALIRI
Spence, that book you got from Täuschung-haus: Did Dorr's goons take it from you?
SPENCE
(wheezing laughter)
Ha ha … no. Dorr wouldn't have known … what to do with it. His men followed me. Saw me … sell it to a pawn broker. Knew it was worth something in the right hands. Got a thousand for it, guy didn't even haggle. (COUGHS WEAKLY) Dorr was waiting when I got home. Took the money, left me with a "reminder" to pay on time.
ALIRI
And I thought my bill collectors were pushy. Xiang, get on the damned phone and get this man an ambulance.
XIANG
Yes. We should leave before they arrive.
ALIRI
(firmly)
No, Xiang. You don't leave a man alone in this kinda shape. He'd be totally helpless.
XIANG
(understanding)
Ah. "Help the wanderer in need, and someday he will do the same for you." The ethics of the nomadic savage.
ALIRI
(muttering)
Better than whatever ethics you've got, you ice-blooded creep-show.
XIANG
What did you say?
ALIRI
Never mind! Get that ambulance here, then get gone if you have to. I'll meet you back at the skimmer when we're done here.
XIANG
As you wish.
ALIRI
Spence, you still with me?
SPENCE
Sort of … Gettin' h-hard to think s-straight …
ALIRI
Look, Spence, I need to know who you sold that book to. Where can I find him?
SPENCE
W-Whitney … Kendall. Has a shop … not far from here. N-Newton Tower.
ALIRI
Thank you. You just rest now, man. Help 'll be here soon.
SPENCE
(whispering)
Aliri … Don't read the book…
[CUE OMINOUS MUSIC]
ALIRI
Don't read it? What do you mean? Isn't it in some kinda code anyway?
SPENCE
(whispering)
Yes. No.
ALIRI
(puzzled)
Think you can vague that up a bit for me?
SPENCE
(whispers, urgently, with growing pain)
It's only in code … in the light. In the shadows … it's not in code anymore. Don't read it … don't…
ALIRI
Spence? Dammit, he passed out.
[SFX: Ambulance siren]
XIANG
The authorities are close. Do not wait too long, Mr. Aliri. We have to find the book, quickly.
ALIRI
What in the Nine Hells is that thing, anyway?
XIANG
Power.
ALIRI
Candle said it wasn't magical.
XIANG
Not all power is magic, Mr. Aliri. We must be swift. The pawn broker will look for a buyer. He will tell others what he has found. We must reach him before the wrong ears hear.
ALIRI
What wrong ears? Who else wants this book besides you?
XIANG
Nightmares. Be swift, Mr. Aliri.
[SFX: MAGIC SHIMMER]
ALIRI
Gone. Dammit. I hate working with wizards.
CUT TO:
SCENE 5: KENDALL'S KURIOSITIES - INT./EXT.
ALIRI
(voice over)
I stayed with Spence until they strapped him down and loaded him into the ambulance. The paramedics said he'd probably need a full-body cast, but he wasn't likely to die from his injuries. The police would want a statement from me, but I was able to put off that bit of fun until tomorrow. I met Xiang in the garage and we headed for Whitney Kendall's pawn shop.
Allow me to make an over-generalization: there's no such thing as a classy pawn shop. At best, they take advantage of desperate people — buying their most precious goods at a fraction of their actual worth. At worst, they're fences who turn stolen goods into untraceable cash. Every pawn shop I've ever been in had a kind of shiftiness about it, no matter how bright the lights or how polished the counters.
That said, Kendall's Kuriosities looked to be a cut or two above the usual pawn operation. It was an outdoor shop on a Dusk-level plaza, with old-fashioned wood-framed windows, striped awnings and potted trees. It reminded me a little of SPELLS 4 U, a magic shop I sometimes go to. Fortunately, the similarity ended with the proprietor.
[SFX: DOOR BELLS JINGLE]
[SFX: MANY CLOCKS TICKING]
Aliri enters the shop, where he is met by WHITNEY KENDALL, a polite and bespectacled man in his early forties. Kendall's a geek for clocks, books, and magic items. Play him a little like See Threepio from STAR WARS: academic, a little effete, very helpful, and a complete coward when trouble shows up.
KENDALL
Good afternoon, sir! A very fine day to you, indeed!
ALIRI
(warily)
Yeah, right back atcha. You got an awful lot of clocks in here, don'tcha?
KENDALL
(chuckling)
Oh, yes, sir! They're a particular passion of mine. I have a beautiful grandfather clock over here, if you're interested! I believe it dates back to between 1834 and 1867, judging by the details of the escapement. It would look lovely in any home, especially if you—
ALIRI
(interrupting)
Thanks but no thanks, Mr. Kendall. I don't think big clocks and drunken magpies go together.
KENDALL
(confused)
I'm … sorry?
ALIRI
Never mind. I'm lookin' for books, not clocks. I hear you got something unusual in yesterday, a black leather book with nothing on the cover.
KENDALL
(excited)
Ah, yes! Yes, that one is very special. I'm afraid it's not for sale until it's been properly appraised, though.
ALIRI
Maybe I can help you with that. Here, my card.
Aliri hands VIORNERY'S BUSINESS CARD to Kendall.
KENDALL
(reading)
Neela … VEEE-oh-NARE-ee?
ALIRI
Viornery, rhymes with ornery. Which I am.
KENDALL
(laughs)
I see! And from Alta Incorporated! This is my lucky day.
ALIRI
Mine too! Been lookin' for this thing for a while. You got it handy? Like to take a look for myself.
KENDALL
It's in the safe in the back. Let me run and get it.
Kendall exits.
XIANG
(whispering fiercely)
What are you doing? You know nothing about appraising artifacts!
ALIRI
(whispering back)
Gah! Okay, first of all, stop sneaking up on me when you're invisible! Second, I don't have to appraise it. All I gotta do is look at it, make sure it's the right thing, tell him we'll be back tomorrow with more tools. Couldn't be simpler!
XIANG
Very well. If it is the right book, I will tap your shoulder.
Kendall comes back in.
KENDALL
Here we are!
ALIRI
All right, let's take a look here …
[SFX: Mysterious music]
ALIRI
Huh. Well, it looks … old.
KENDALL
But remarkably well-preserved! Very little yellowing for a book this old. The text is still perfectly legible.
ALIRI
Yeah, that's some … perfectly legible gibberish right there.
KENDALL
Yes, but I haven't shown you the best part! This is what it looks like with the lights on. But if I … turn the lights off …
[SFX: Light clicking off]
ALIRI
Spirits, would you look at that! Glow-in-the-dark letters, printed over the regular ones! How'd they do that without magic?
KENDALL
I'm not certain. At first I thought it was radioactive paint, like the old glow-in-the-dark watches. But in a book this old, that would have long since faded out. My current theory is it's some kind of long-lived phosphorescent material. But I'm sure Alta must have the equipment to analyze it, yes?
ALIRI
Oh, yes, of course! I just don't have it with me, you know. All that hardware gets heavy for a little guy like me. Say, now that I can read it, I wonder what the title is…
[SFX: Flipping pages]
ALIRI
"Men Moranu." Huh. That sounds like Old Tongue.
KENDALL
Yes, Mr. Viornery. "Men Moranu" — the Path Under the Shadows.
ALIRI
Ugh!
KENDALL
Something wrong?
ALIRI
Just got a bad pinch in my shoulder, don't mind me. What's that mean, the Path Under the Shadows? I didn't get briefed on this assignment as thoroughly as I like.
(This last part with a little bit of heat, directed at the invisible Xiang.)
KENDALL
(conspiratorially)
Well, I've been doing some digging since this fell in my lap. Put in a few calls to friends at universities and the like. It seems that the Men Moranu was a treatise on the secrets and power of the Plane of Shadow.
[SFX: Ominous Music, slowly becoming more dramatic]
ALIRI
The Plane of Shadow? Isn't that the place Lord Ba— (STOPS SAYING THE NAME) uh, I mean, the Prince of Daedra comes from?
KENDALL
(wincing)
Thank you for not using the name, but the title isn't much better.
ALIRI
Sorry. So, if the plane belongs to, um, that guy — Big Mr. Shadow — isn't it probably a bad idea to have anything to do with it?
KENDALL
Well, he didn't create the Plane of Shadow; it's a part of our world, he was just the first to discover it. Wizards have used the power of Shadow for centuries, in small ways. Particularly illusions: every illusionist has a little Shadow in their magic.
ALIRI
(glaring around at the unseen Xiang)
You don't say. Some more than others, I'll bet.
KENDALL
(oblivious)
Oh, yes. There are stories of master Shadow-mages who could travel unseen over great distances, conjure tools and creatures made from Shadow, veil objects so completely that no seer could find them—
ALIRI
Walk through shadows from one room to another?
KENDALL
(delighted)
Yes! You've heard the same stories, I see.
ALIRI
Oh, believe me, they're more than stories.
Xiang APPEARS from beneath her veil.
KENDALL
(shrieks)
XIANG
Aliri! We are out of time!
KENDALL
(scared)
Where did she come from?!
ALIRI
(grimly)
Right now, I'm guessing no place you want to visit.
Aliri DRAWS HIS GUN.
[SFX: Cocking gun]
ALIRI
You stay right there, sweet-cheeks. We're gonna have a little chat.
XIANG
What are you doing? Take the book and we can go!
KENDALL
(plaintively)
But it's my book!
ALIRI
(ignoring Kendall)
I'm not going one more damned step until you answer some questions.
XIANG
Do not point that gun at me, you idiot! Enemies come this way!
KENDALL
(terrified, mostly to himself)
Enemies?! I don't want enemies! I'm just a businessman!
ALIRI
(talking over him)
And I'm thinking maybe they're already here. Do the Lightbringers know you're a Shadow mage, Xiang?What's Lom Shi'Un gonna do with that kinda power, if they get their hands on it?
XIANG
Paranoid fool! I am trying to stop that book from being used!
ALIRI
(sarcastically)
Sure, sure. You're a public servant. Maybe you'll lock it away in a vault for eighty years, like Wizard Scheel did. 'Cause we know she never read the damned thing; that would have been wrong.
XIANG
(calmly, very seriously)
Aliri, listen to me: The book is a danger to all who read it. I have more reason to know this than most. I swear to you, on my power: I seek only to prevent others from using the book to do harm.
[SFX: Thoughtful music — time is slowing down as Aliri gives his voice-over.]
ALIRI
(voice over)
That made me pause. A wizard's oath means something, and if they break it, it costs them. They don't swear by their power unless they really, really mean it.
Xiang was as cold and hard as the glaciers of her homeland, and her power was obviously touched by Shadow — but maybe that just meant that she knew the dangers of Shadow better than most. I guess it made sense: if somebody worked with nuclear reactors for a living, they might make it their business if somebody published a book on how to build one in your garage. Maybe, just maybe, Xiang was on the level.
I sighed and lowered my gun.
XIANG
Thank you, Aliri.
ALIRI
(voice over)
Unfortunately, while we were arguing, the sun sank behind the mountains, and the whole city of Metamor fell into shadows. Thirty seconds later, half a dozen vampires climbed out of a panel van and barged into the shop.
CUT TO:
SCENE 6: KENDALL'S KURIOSITIES - INT.
CAINE DORR enters the pawn shop, accompanied by several OTHER VAMPIRES. They are carrying guns and knives and chains and very definitely mean business. Dorr is a vicious, swaggering blood-sucker without the refinement of a monster like Malcolm ard'Valos.
[SFX: Door chimes]
[SFX: Slamming door open]
DORR
(bellowing)
Nobody move!
ALIRI
(grimly)
Caine Dorr. I'd hoped never to see your ugly face again.
DORR
The feeling was mutual, Aliri. I still haven't forgotten the way you screwed me over.
ALIRI
You know, memory's a funny thing. I haven't forgotten the way I exposed a senator who was taking bribes from some two-cent vampire bottom-feeder and got him kicked out of office. But I guess one man's patriotic detective work is another man's … screwing.
DORR
Always the funny guy, ain'tcha? Always with the little jokes. Well, I ain't laughin', greenie.
ALIRI
I'm not surprised. Humor requires a highly sophisticated grasp of language. But you probably still like those little books with all the pictures in 'em.
DORR
(growls)
ALIRI
Oh, good! We found your level of fluency.
DORR
(biting out the words)
Give me. That damned book. Before I tear your head off and stick a straw down your scrawny neck!
ALIRI
Well, see, technically, the book's not actually mine. The guy who bought it is this sap behind me, so, really, it's his scrawny neck you should be looking to.
XIANG
(hissing)
Aliri! What are you doing?
KENDALL
I d-don't want any t-trouble, Mr. Dorr, sir! You want the book, here! Take it!
XIANG
NO! Wait!
Kendall THROWS THE BOOK to Dorr.
DORR
(smugly)
Thank you, Mister Kendall, for being so very reasonable! (TO ALIRI) As for you, Aliri: you ever stick your nose in my business again, it'll be the last time.
ALIRI
Oh, I'm planning on it.
DORR
(to other vamps)
Come on, boys.
Dorr and his cronies leave the shop.
[SFX: Drive turbines whining as skimmer van takes off]
KENDALL
(relieved)
They're gone …
XIANG
You fools! You let them take the book!
ALIRI
(satisfied)
Yes. Back to Dorr's lair, which I know where it is. And now I can call the Lightbringers, and tell them where he is and that he has the Men Moranu. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume they know what that is.
XIANG
(stammering)
You — but — how do you know he will take the book there?
ALIRI
Because Dorr hasn't got the brains to fill a teacup. The smartest thing he might think to do is turn it over to the Vampire Prince, and if he does that, he's gotta go through channels, which means waiting to hear back. More likely, he'll try to sell it again himself, so he gets paid twice for the same piece of loot. Which also means waiting. Either way, we've got a span to act in. We'll call ahead and have the Lightbringers meet us there.
XIANG
(sighs)
Very well. But if this does not work, I will hold you responsible, Aliri.
ALIRI
(ironically)
And if it does work, you'll take all the credit. Sometimes I love my job.
CUT TO:
SCENE 7: DORR'S LAIR - EXT.
[SFX: Skimmer slowing down, landing]
ALIRI
Well, there it is. Caine Dorr's super-secret home base.
XIANG
Where is it?
ALIRI
Right there, across the street.
XIANG
That is a flower shop.
ALIRI
Yep.
XIANG
The big scary vampire predatory lender runs his operation out of a flower shop?
ALIRI
Hey, would you expect it? He doesn't meet clients here, this is just the back office. C'mon, that driver in the van behind us looks like a Lightbringer. Let's go say hello.
[SFX: Car doors opening and shutting]
Aliri and Xiang walk over to a parked van, where KELSEY STANTON is waiting. She is a tall, muscular Lightbringer agent, polite and level-headed and very tough under pressure. She has more of a sense of humor than her boss, Janus, but she's still a soldier first, and she takes her work very seriously.
STANTON
Rafak Aliri? Xiang Jinn?
ALIRI
That's us.
STANTON
I'm Agent Kelsey Stanton, Lothanasi Order. What have we got here?
ALIRI
We just got here ourselves. Caine Dorr had six other vamps with him when he took the book. It's black leather, about this big, funny writing, hidden text that glows in the dark. He may still have it on him; if not, it'll be in either the fire safe or the hidden compartment in his desk.
STANTON
(a little suspiciously)
How do you know all this?
ALIRI
Private eye, Agent Stanton. Knowing things I'm not supposed to is my job. How you wanna play this?
STANTON
(dryly)
Well, Dorr's not a subtle guy, so I'm thinking the direct approach. I've got twenty combat agents in the back of this van, and two gunships on standby.
XIANG
(impressed)
That is … a large number.
STANTON
Well, when the boss heard "Men Moranu," his face turned an interesting color. Are you sure Dorr's here?
ALIRI
Well, I haven't knocked on the door or poked my head in, if that's what you mean. I'm an investigator, not a soldier. I'm not walking into the lion's den on purpose.
XIANG
Let me take a look. I can veil myself and go in through the back.
STANTON
All right, but if we don't hear back from you in five minutes, we're coming in after you. Here, take an earpiece.
XIANG
Thank you. I will return shortly.
Xiang leaves. The following exchange is very deadpan.
STANTON
Interesting lady.
ALIRI
Yep.
STANTON
Got sort of a creepy Shadow vibe off her.
ALIRI
Yeah, I noticed that.
STANTON
She's gonna betray us and take the book, isn't she?
ALIRI
Most likely.
STANTON
Right. We move in two minutes.
ALIRI
Have fun with that.
[SFX: RADIO CRACKLE]
LIGHTBRINGER #2
(on communicator)
Agent Stanton, this is Eagle Two, do you read? We are getting multiple spatial distortions in your immediate area!
STANTON
Blast it! An Outsider incursion now? How many?
LIGHTBRINGER #2
There's some interference, but I see at least four, repeat, four separate incursion events, surrounding the target of interest. You're about five meters inside the incursion zone! Spatial breach in less than two minutes!
STANTON
Dammit! All right, everybody out! Fire teams in defensive positions! Get clear of the zone! C&C, get me those gunships RFN!
LIGHTBRINGER #2
We're on our way!
The Lightbringers scatter out of the van and take up defensive positions around Dorr's lair.
[SFX: Soldiers running]
ALIRI
Where do I go? What do I do?!
STANTON
Stay close to me and keep up, Shorty! Move!
[SFX: Groaning wind, ominous hum]
ALIRI
(panting)
This is not my day …
STANTON
There! Get up that fire escape!
ALIRI
(grunts in exertion)
[SFX: Feet running on metal stairs]
LIGHTBRINGER #2
(freaking out)
Breach in one minute!
STANTON
Aliri, listen to me! Whatever comes outta those portals, stay hidden! High ground is prob'ly enough, but if they've got wings, you get yourself inside and behind a threshold. Beg, bribe, do whatever you have to, but get inside somebody's home and stay there. Most of these things are like vamps, they can't enter a home uninvited.
LIGHTBRINGER #2
THIRTY SECONDS!
STANTON
Whatever you do, DO NOT ENGAGE THE HOSTILES! You get me?! You're a civilian! Don't try any heroics, that's our job!
ALIRI
I got it! Watch your back, ma'am!
LIGHTBRINGER #2
THEY'RE COMING THROUGH!
STANTON
All agents, open fire!
[SFX: Machine guns, monster roars, screeches, howls]
[Music slows down, takes on a spooky, dreamlike feel]
ALIRI
(voice over)
I'd never really seen the Lightbringers go to work before that day. I hope I never do again. The things that came out of those portals were exactly what Xiang said: nightmares. I didn't look too close at any of them, but there were lots of claws, and legs, and tentacles, and way too many eyes and mouths and teeth. Some were as black as an oil slick, others looked like they were made of living shadow. It was like the Ninth Hell had gone on an acid trip and stopped in at an S&M shop along the way. Sometimes I dream about it … and I wake up screaming.
[Music picks up more of a martial vibe]
The monsters went after the flower shop, busting glass and tearing their way inside. The vamps fought back, and the Lightbringers closed in from behind. I guess that was probably the first time the vampire syndicate and the Lightbringers ever got in a fight on the same side.
It got bad. Some of the vamps got eaten by the Shadow-things. Dorr turned into fog and ran away, and I couldn't really blame him. The Lightbringers took some hits, too, and five of the agents in Stanton's team went down. But the Libs are the best in the world at what they do, even when it isn't pretty. They never broke. And when the gunships arrived, well, the monsters pulled outta there pretty quick. The ones that weren't in pieces, anyway.
When it was all over, I climbed down and helped Stanton search through the rubble.
STANTON
Any sign of Xiang?
ALIRI
Nope. Nor the book, neither. Somebody emptied the safe, and the desk is a pile of broken wood.
STANTON
Blast it. I'd pay good money to know who sent those Outsiders.
ALIRI
I'm thinkin' maybe they weren't sent. Maybe they were called.
STANTON
(grimly)
Xiang?
ALIRI
She swore to me that she didn't want any mortals using the book. I never asked what she might be willing to do to make sure they didn't.
STANTON
You know, that's an interesting choice of words. "Mortal."
ALIRI
Whadda ya mean?
STANTON
I worked security once for a state visit from Prince Ba'al. Got close enough to smell his aura.
ALIRI
Um … wow. I can't even imagine.
STANTON
(dryly)
Yeah, that sort of thing stays with you. Xiang Jinn's aura had the same smell about her.
ALIRI
You don't think … um, how many kids has Ba'al got running around?
STANTON
Enough that we can't keep track of 'em all. And they're all very, very good illusionists.
ALIRI
And, uh … not exactly mortal, are they?
STANTON
Not in the least.
ALIRI
Son of a … she weaseled me on a technicality!
STANTON
Yep. Like father, like daughter.
CUT TO:
SCENE 8: SOULSHORE DOCKS - EXT.
[CUE DETECTIVEY MUSIC]
ALIRI
(voice over)
I caravaned out of there with the Lighbringers, which probably saved me a couple hours of police questioning. I had a feeling the Lothanasi and MCPD would be squabbling over the jurisdiction on this for a while.
I called Viornery from the skimmer, gave him the news. Didn't ask for any of the retainer back, since I'd held up my end. I could've let it go at that point — headed home and called it a day. But I'm a lot like Candle; I don't let go of a puzzle so easy. I checked a few things, confirmed a few hunches, and headed for the Soulshore docks on the north end of town. It's a quiet place, mostly local shipping — across the Sea of Souls to Arabarb in the west, and my home country of Inu Lutinaka in the north. I walked past the fishing boats and big shipping barges, to a little, battered old mid-sized freighter with a very interesting name.
[SFX: Footsteps on wooden dock]
ALIRI
Ahoy there, S.S. Tenebra! Request permission to come aboard?
Xiang Jinn comes out onto the deck.
XIANG
(disbelieving)
Aliri?! What are you doing here? How did you find me?
ALIRI
Sweetheart, do you know how annoying that question is for a detective? You can relax, I'm not here for the book. Though you probably don't want to show your face on Lightbringer turf for a while.
XIANG
I … see. Then why are you here?
ALIRI
Curiosity. There's some pieces of all this that don't add up for me. And seeing as I helped you get the book, I figure you owe me.
XIANG
We shall see. What do you want to know, Mr. Aliri?
ALIRI
Does Lom Shi'Un even know about the Men Moranu? 'Cause I figure, you got the ambassador to send you, Alta must've checked your bona fides. I'm guessing you're a real member of the diplomatic corps. So it's real strange to think you'd jeopardize that by taking the book away from your own country. Unless they never knew they had it.
XIANG
How do you know I'm not taking it back to Lom Shi'Un right now?
ALIRI
'Cause Lom Shi'Un is that way. On the other hand, Daddy's home base is this way, in Arabarb. Come on, Xiang, I'm a lutin; I know my Northlands geography.
XIANG
Very well. I suppose it hurts nothing for you to know. The official who sold the book to Wizard Scheel did not understand what he had. He thought it was a Western mage's diary, nothing more. The book hides its nature when necessary. It will be replaced by a safer volume that was prepared for this purpose. My government will be satisfied.
ALIRI
So, no international incident. That's great. I'm sure it'll be a big comfort to the Lightbringers who're getting their limbs reattached after your monsters ripped 'em off.
XIANG
Those were not "my" monsters, Mr. Aliri.
ALIRI
No? So who sent 'em? Santa Claus?
XIANG
There is much you mortals do not understand about the Lands Outside. You think because my father discovered the Shadow that he is the master of all that dwells there. But the Shadow knows no master. Its power can be drawn upon, can be used — its paths can be walked — its secrets can be learned — but when you touch the Shadow, the Shadow also touches you. And unless you are very careful, and very wise, you will draw the attention of things that should not be here. That is why I must take the book, Aliri. You are not ready for it.
ALIRI
Yeah … you know, I think maybe you're right. Well, see you around, Xiang.
XIANG
(smiling)
Perhaps you shall, Aliri. Perhaps you shall.
BOTH EXIT.
THE END
