3:1 – Act One
It seemed they were always at the pub.
Sure they did their jobs. Ivan went to the town hall daily, handling the myriad challenges that cropped up daily in a fair-sized town. Ben went to the import/export office he owned and reviewed manifests, routed money, and reviewed the plans his staff proposed to gain more. Siobhan taught kindergarteners to not eat paste and to consume life with gusto; their bright, shining presences a necessary counterpoint to the darkness the crew dealt with.
Gwen also worked with kids, as an Occupational Therapist her natural empathy was a huge benefit while her Magick could be applied subtly to make a difference. Prairie was a trauma nurse at Ourton general, a job that both suited her Magick and taxed it. Living as she had, for as long as she had, among Spirits, she didn’t know how to think without the thick comfort of Spiritis blanketing her she’d explain if you asked with genuine interest not morbid curiosity.
Kim was an architectural model maker, exacting work that kept her hands busy and her mind free and her far enough away from Tech that everything wasn’t constantly breaking or catching on fire or exploding around her. Dan’s job as an investigator had the closest crossover to the collective work of the crew, a faulty circuit, bleeding and blending, of him getting information from the group for his work and his work providing information for the group, but Ivan’s, Ben’s, and Prairie’s jobs had also produced leads, contacts, and information that helped in the collective investigations they did.
Despite this, the parts of their lives where they were singular on to themselves were background noise. It was when they were at the pub or investigating and fighting together that they were present and fully part of the world. It was like, you could have a crayon, and it could be your favorite crayon and you colored with it all the time but given it was only one crayon and one color your creations would be flat. Add other crayons, some of which were in complementary colors or similar shades to yours while others contrasted, and your creation gained depth and life.
Kim shook off her introspection with a “huh?” as Ivan repeated, “How was your day?”
Raising her chin from the cradle of her fists where it had been resting, she yawned. “Lots of little paper houses. And little paper trees. I even, rebel I am, threw in a little paper dog.”
Queen of small talk, that was her. Or so Ivan’s eye roll telegraphed.
She stifled a yawn. “Honestly I was out kind of late at this crystal woo woo store. They were having a presentation on “channeling your inner fire”. Ends up “inner fire” for nulls is waaaaaay different than it is for a Magicker. The presenter went on and on about how you can support your Agni, which apparently is digestive fire. The advocacy of detoxing had me alternately in stitches and puking in my mouth. Tell me, have you ever considered flushing your liver?”
“His life is full of too much shit already. Do you want him exploring new ways to embrace it?” Ben’s smile peaked over the rim of his beer glass.
“The benefits of liver cleansing are fallacious. The liver will cleanse itself.” Prairie spun a dagger on the table, reaching down to grab it and stop its rotation, then releasing it to spin some more.
Siobhan looked up from the packets of herbs she’d pulled out of bottomless bag and was sorting in some system that probably only she understood. “Milk thistle can improve liver health. There are also some tonics that can help. But mostly Kim’s right in poking fun. My feelings on this are if you are a Magicker, or have access to a Magicker, who can affect the body through what is put in it then detox works. Otherwise, not so much.”
“Yeah, so, except for the limited humor factor I wasted my time. They didn’t even have good cookies. Fiber. So much fiber. Far as I’m concerned putting raisins in a sawdust biscuit doesn’t elevate it from sawdust.” She gave a mock shudder. “Don’t suppose anyone else had better luck with their self-imposed goals?”
Ben started to speak then stopped abruptly as Patti, the bartender and singer in the band that provided live entertainment most nights at the pub, lead a large man with a drawn expression to their table.
“This is them,” Patti said, “the people I told you about.” Patti turned to the group. “Chase here is looking for his fiance. She disappeared and he found this story in the suitcase she left behind.”
Patti gave Gwen a pointed look to which Gwen nodded and mouthed, “Thank you.”
Patti made the universal ‘call me’ gesture with thumb and pinky, then went back to the bar.
The man, Chase, planted his feet firmly and crossed his arms over his chest. The leather jacket he wore, which Ben was probably drooling over, must have been custom-made to accommodate the breadth of his shoulders and chest and his boots, scuffed leather with a heavy heel that would keep feet secure on the pegs of a bike, were the finest quality. He didn’t seem old, he didn’t seem young; he seemed worn, as if battered by winds that carved his features from rough rock. His set expression spoke of a man who listed confidence as one of his main assets. This was a man who strode confidently through life; a man who made hard decisions every day and accepted the possible consequences of them. Which made the uncertainty tightening the skin around his eyes all the more telling.
Dan stood up and grabbed an extra chair, placing it besides his own and indicating Chase should sit. “Chase is it?”
A jerk of a nod. “Chase Skog.”
“Sit?”
A quick hesitation as Chase scanned the faces of those seated around the table, a sharp nod speaking to a decision made, and then he sat.
“The bartender said it. I’m looking for my fiancee, Nieve.” A subtle shift. “Sorry, that was abrupt. I’m Chase Skog. Head of security for Apfel Industries.”
The name of one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country wasn’t foreign to anyone at the table, but what Siobhan explained was new to most of them, “Apfel makes pharmaceuticals that are rumored to be laced with Magick. Less than alchemical potions, but more than aspirin. Somehow they’ve figured out how to activate the Magick and keep it that way so their medications don’t need an alchemist to kindle it.”
Chase nodded. “My Nieve is a chemist and an alchemist and is at least partially responsible for the success of Apfel. But its her stepmother, Banrion, who is the real factor. She has amazing instincts when it comes to opening new markets and sourcing materials. When Nieve’s father died everyone thought the company would fail but Banrion stepped up and grew the company exponentially. She’s incredibly driven. Knows what she wants and gets it.”
“I think I know where this is going,” Kim cut in, excitement in her voice, “She wanted you but you wanted Nieve.” At the look Chase gave her she added, “What? Its classic soap opera stuff. Did she try to offer you something to stay away from Nieve?”
“No.” Chase frowned. “Nieve and I kept our relationship on the low. Apparently she’d had a few boyfriends in the past who Banrion had taken from her. Some she bribed. Others she, probably, seduced with promises of power and sex. Nieve had her heart broken every time so when I asked her out she shot me down. But I’m persistent.” A reminiscent expression softened his features. “I also get what I want.”
“I bet you do,” Gwen murmured.
“Banrion and Nieve had a weird dynamic. Half the time I thought Banrion wanted Nieve gone. The other half I think she was terrified Nieve would leave. That’s actually how I met Nieve. Banrion suspected Nieve was talking to another company about a head researcher job and she ordered me to investigate. Once I met Nieve I made sure it took me a long time to investigate.” He leaned back in his chair, planting an elbow on the arm. “Nieve is,” his expression went distant. “Special. She has this…” he waved vaguely with his hand, “thing about her. Like she’s untouched. Sheltered. A real “ivory tower’ kind of girl.”
Siobhan made encouraging noises and leaned forward showing her interest. “And she’s missing?”
Chase ground his teeth. “I’d been asking Nieve to marry me for over a year and she kept pushing it aside. She’d tell me she wanted to but she had some concerns. About Banrion. Ends up her father’s will was weird. He left the company to Nieve, but she wasn’t going to actually inherit until she was thirty or she married. Nieve said her father was old-fashioned. He didn’t think that a woman could take care of herself until she was older. But, if she married she’d have someone to take care of her so it would be okay if she inherited the responsibility of the company.”
He gave them a significant look. “I’m sure you see where Banrion might have a problem with this. Maybe she figured by the time Nieve was thirty she’d have her so thoroughly under her thumb Nieve would leave her in charge. Which makes sense, really. Nieve isn’t a business person. She is a scientist of the purest sort. She’s told me she really doesn’t want to run the company. Her plan was that when she turned thirty she’d hire a competent CEO and retain her position as head of Research and Design.”
“What changed?” Ivan asked, reading something in Chase’s words that the others missed.
“Nieve got information that Banrion was unethically sourcing their materials. There was some question of slave labor in poor countries, less even than paying bits on the mark. Naive as she is she thought if she confronted Banrion she’d get a real answer. Which, I guess, she did in Banrion basically saying ‘Yeah, and…?” then throwing down that Nieve had no real say in the decisions made at the executive-level. Until Nieve inherits Banrion has control of the company.”
“Seems like Nieve and I have done a good job of keeping our relationship hidden because I get a call one night and Banrion is summoning me to her office. When I get there Banrion basically makes me responsible for a hit on my girl.”
That rang a bell deep in the back of Kim’s brain. Why was that familiar?
“So, I agreed to buy time. Then I got Nieve packed and told her to meet me at the pump house in Gryphon Park. We were getting gone but I had to keep up the illusion that I was following Banrion’s orders.”
“And when you got the park she wasn’t there.” Ivan stated rather than asking.
“Yeah. Her bags were there but she wasn’t.” He dug into the interior pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pile of papers that had been folded down their length. Unfolding them, he offered them to Ivan. “I found this in her bag. At first I thought it was legal documents. She’d hinted that she had something that would keep Banrion at bay, if she found out we’d left together. So I read them and found…” A look combining revulsion and confusion transformed his features. “That.”
“How long ago was this?” Dan asked, giving Ivan time to start reading.
“A few days. I started my investigation immediately but I had to be discrete. Banrion assumed I’d killed Nieve and I had to leave her thinking that.”
“Siobhan,” Ivan said after scanning the first few lines and headed them to her. “Look at this.”
Siobhan took the papers, reading quickly over what Ivan had. Then she placed the papers down on the table, smoothing them so they lied flatter.
“Chase, I’d like to read these aloud to my group. If that’s okay with you?”
At Chase’s nodded assent Siobhan leaned over the papers and started to read…
Enter The Woods 