213. The Missing Case of Karrak
The wide valley held the small outskirt town, its northern edge facing a colossal wall of jagged, rocky mountains too sharp for any life to settle. To the south, a pristine pine forest formed the town’s outer rim.
The morning sun slanted through the rocky slopes, reflecting white light onto the village and bathing it in a warm glow. It looked like something out of a secluded fairy tale.
“Looks peaceful, don’t you think?” Cubie said, gliding the hovercar along the lone rural street. No other car or companion was in sight.
“Right…” Zetius clipped, sipping on a tall can of energy drink. The open convertible allowed the fresh air to flow past, fluttering his silver hair.
“Are you drunk?” Cubie asked, tuning the music back up.
“No, I can’t get drunk, Cubie. My metabolism is highly efficient.” Zetius grumbled, taking a closer look at the valley. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not exhausted.”
“How did you know?”
“I just know. Now, eyes on the road.” He commanded, affecting his 'tough guy' voice.
“Well, if you haven't noticed, I don’t have eyeballs!” Cubie countered, sass dripping from her voice. She had definitely picked up that from Ziyue.
When Zetius didn’t answer, Cubie continued, “So why so grumpy, then?”
“I’m not grumpy.” Zetius finished the last drop of his drink. “I’m just worried about Astrid. I wonder if she is going to be alright.”
“She’ll be fine. She chewed on the horn of an antelope, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, but what was that all about?! Male potency and an alcoholic hangover cure are two completely different things.” Zetius grumbled, resting his head on his fist. “Is it like Frain’s saliva? Does it also have a mild healing effect?”
“Likely so,” Cubie said, searching the arc library. “The antelope horn drastically speeds up natural biological processes, especially those involved in vitality and reproductive health.”
“Well?”
“Well, it also helps the metabolic process and expels toxins from the body.”
“Fascinating. That’s pretty handy for Astrid.” He chuckled.
As they entered the village, they noticed the wooden, single-storeyed houses weren’t built in the brutalist style of most cities in Tabit.
As Cubie drove past the main street, the people watched them cautiously from their windows. Doors and windows closed behind them.
“No children on the street,” Cubie shared her observation.
“Weird,” Zetius agreed.
The seemingly ordinary town felt peaceful. That is, if Zetius hadn’t read the reports of missing people in this area. Could this be Ignius’s doing? Still, it didn’t fit his methodology to go after small, insignificant people. Could he simply snatch a few people like a folklore phantom?
As they turned onto the side road leading to the southern woods, the pine trees with their dark barks became visibly denser.
Zetius’s eyes got lost in the hazy rows of passing trees. The further he looked, the darker the abyss stared back at him.
Before he realised it, the hovercar came to a stop.
“We’ll have to walk from here,” Cubie said, a small HUD screen pinging up on the console. “Are you even listening, Zetius?!” she urged, annoyed.
“I am… There’s something weird about this wood. I can feel it.” Zetius commented, shuffling out of the car and shutting the door behind him.
Hovering beside him, Cubie asked, “What do you mean?”
“It’s just a hunch, Cubie,” Zetius muttered, pointing at the inclined trail that led to clusters of houses partially obscured by the dense forest.
“Come!” he said.
Once they reached the top of the hill, an old man stood in front of a wooden fence. He wore a dark robe and a fedora hat.
As he spotted Zetius and Cubie, he pulled his hat down and fidgeted with his thumbs.
“Ahem! G~good morning…” The old man greeted, his voice shaky. There was no friendliness in his expression; he was the truly grumpy one.
Noticing his shining bald head, Zetius returned the greeting, “Good morning.”
“Are you the investigators? They’re letting kids join the force these days. A little young, don’t you think?” the man asked, his voice hardening.
Exchanging an unsure glance with Cubie, Zetius replied, “Actually, we aren’t with the police. You know, the whole police department… was sacked after the Umbral turned this country upside down.”
The man’s brows furrowed into a deep crease. “Then what the hell are you two here for?”
“Elder, what if I told you this is a matter beyond the natural?” Zetius clarified, his voice confident. He then gestured to his companion. “In case you haven't realised, my partner here is a highly functional drone, designed for advanced crime analytics with built-in forensics.”
“I’m not a dron—”
“Hush, now!” Zetius quickly grabbed hold of Cubie before she could say more. “See how advanced she is? Imagine having a partner who doesn’t agree with anything you say. It truly broadens your wisdom, right?”
“Right! That… that’s not something I thought I would see.” The elder inspected Cubie’s lights, which alternated in intensity, and his shoulders visibly relaxed.
“Would you kindly tell us what happened?” Zetius bowed slightly.
“Of course. This is not normal. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I have never seen a missing case like this.” The elder scratched his head before putting his hat back on.
He then spun around to a lone house whose backyard connected to the woods. “There’s a lumberjack’s house over there.”
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“And according to the report, he is the one missing?” Zetius asked, narrowing his eyes and focusing on the place. Nothing looked out of the ordinary from where he was standing.
“No, he lives with his wife. She’s missing too,” the elder replied. “Please find them. I’ve known them for ages; he’s a very gentle man. Half the houses here have either been built or repaired by him.”
“Any kids?”
“No kid.”
“We’ll try our best,” Cubie responded.
“Walk with me.” The elder gestured, and they followed on his heels, their boots scraping on the white stone path.
The other houses appeared abandoned, with their doors and windows sealed shut. “Where is everyone?” Zetius asked, curious.
“Um, um… Ah…” The elder stammered, unable to form words.
“You can tell us. We are quite… open-minded,” Zetius smiled.
“Well, some believe in the supernatural. So they thought the lumberjack got tricked by the witch in the wood.” The elder disclosed, wiping sweat from his cheeks.
“The witch in the wood?” Zetius repeated, blinking.
“Yeah. So they didn’t want to take chances and moved to the city instead.”
“Tell us more about the witch in the wood, Elder,” Cubie asked, gathering more information.
“She’s a local legend, appearing at night around these woods, taking the form of a very beautiful, pale lady. Her eyes are so captivating that she can lure you into the woods and then eat you.”
“That’s pretty basic,” Cubie remarked. “Don’t you have something a bit more unique?”
“Fine!” The elder groaned. “She also sucks it… you know…” He rolled his eyes around.
“Umm… I don’t think I understand what you’re getting at,” Zetius said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Mind explaining it?”
“Don’t be dense. I’m not saying that, young man,” the elder stopped at the tall wooden gate in front of the lumberjack’s house. “Legends say she was the reincarnation of evil lust. So she favoured virgins, both male and female.” He looked Zetius dead in the eyes.
“Aren’t you a virgin, Zetius?” Cubie quipped, her brightness turning up a notch in a mischievous manner.
“No… technically, yes in this body,” Zetius answered with honesty.
“Huh? What are you two even talking about?” The old man grimaced, confusion painted all over his face.
“Anyway, Elder. I believe you just confused the witch in the wood with a succubus…” Zetius concluded bluntly, crossing his arms.
“What’s a succubus?” the old man frowned.
“What?!“ Zetius scoffed.
As the elder glanced at the house, his skin crawled. “Anyway, good luck with your investigation. No one has dared to enter the house ever since they found out the residents had gone missing.”
“And you’re not coming with us?” Zetius blurted out, seeing the elder practically run off.
“No, I’m also a believer in a succubus or whatever that is!” The elder shouted a reply before disappearing as he turned the corner.
His footsteps faded into the silence. Only the rustling of branches and the sound of cicadas reverberated from the forest.
Zetius exhaled deeply, placing his hand on top of the fence. “Hades… people here are weird. Their folktales are probably created just to trick kids into not going into the woods.”
“The oldest trick in the book,” Cubie chirped sharply. “Aren’t you afraid, Zetius? Hehehe.”
“Not in the slightest. I’ve fought real monsters. I’m not scared of a succubus. Besides, they don’t exist anymore.” He answered, more to steel himself.
With a flick of his wrist, the wooden gate gave way, and they proceeded inside.
A pickup truck sat parked outside, completely untouched.
“Cubie, perform an aerial check for me.” Zetius pointed skyward, circling his hands in a gesture.
“You got it!” Cubie replied happily, elevating into the air.
The wood groaned under his weight as he stepped onto the front porch. The house itself was a log cabin, its walls masterfully arranged. The elder hadn’t lied about the man’s craftsmanship.
His instinct led him to the windows first. He peered inside, revealing a living room decorated cozily with bookshelves and standard furniture and appliances. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“Cubie isn’t back yet. I told her a quick sweep, didn’t I?” he grumbled, moving toward the front door.
He tried the handle a few times, but the door was locked.
“Strange.” He doubled back to the two front windows, both of which were securely latched from the inside.
His Novitcius ring vibrated. He tapped it with his thumb. “Cubie?”
“Who else would be calling you, Zetius?” Cubie quipped.
“Cut the jokes. Tell me what you found.” Zetius urged.
“Well, I checked all the windows except for one on the east side,” Cubie reported, pinging the location on his map.
Following her ping, Zetius found the east window. It was clearly broken, with shards of glass scattered across the flower bed below.
“Blood?” Zetius crouched, his eyes fixed on the petals stained with dried blood.
“I think this just got a lot more interesting.”
“It seems a dispute broke out inside the kitchen.” Zetius tiptoed to get a better view, spotting scattered kitchenware and a spatter of blood on the walls.
“So… it’s just a lover’s quarrel gone bad?” Cubie asked. “No witch of the wood?”
“And you checked all the windows?” Zetius spun to ask her.
“Yep. All of them are locked.”
“What about the back door?” he pressed.
“Yes, Zetius. All of them are sealed tight. The only in-or-out was this one.” Cubie's tone was lazy.
Zetius abused his strength to break the door handle, granting himself entry to the building. As he entered the hallway, a framed picture of the family and a beautiful wedding photo hung on the wall.
“That’s unbelievably sad…” Zetius murmured.
Once he was in the kitchen, the stench of burnt food and blood filled his nostrils.
“Finder-keeper protocol. Check the other rooms for me; see if there’s anything out of place,” Zetius ordered, and Cubie zipped off in a ribbon of light.
“Never thought I’d be playing investigator at a true crime scene. Is this even a valid arcanist job?” he thought to himself, surveying the messy floor.
He noticed a bloody knife near the window. There were no glass shards on the inside.
“So they fought against one another after all… I’d conclude this as domestic violence gone wrong, but only one of them lingered at the scene.”
No corpses.
“I’ve found nothing out of the ordinary,” Cubie reported back.
A crooked grin spread across Zetius’s face. “Initiate a scene reconstruction, incorporating blood spatter patterns and object trajectory interpolation.” His voice was firm and crystal clear.
“Um… how?”
“How?” he gasped.
“I don’t know where you came up with that idea… Hacking an Armatus is one thing, but that kind of deep forensic analysis isn't something I can do on the fly…” Cubie's voice softened as her light dimmed.
“Really?” Zetius raised an eyebrow.
“Duh! It’s too sophisticated for me.” Cubie whined.
“Sorry. Then we’re done here. Let’s head outside.” Zetius tilted his head. He no longer wanted to spend any more time in this dreadful environment.
At the sidewalk, they returned to the broken window.
“I believe there was no external force here. The man went mad one night and decided to hurt his wife.” Zetius’s mind worked quickly, disappointed that Cubie’s abilities were not as vast as he had hoped.
“At least, that’s how it looks. The glass and window frame broke outward, so they fell out of the window and onto the flower bed here,” he continued to speculate.
“Makes sense to me.” Cubie nodded toward the flattened flower bed beneath the wall.
“Instead of going for the car, they disappeared into thin air.” Zetius rubbed his chin in deep thought.
“Wait, there’s a drag line on the dirt here.” Cubie pointed, hovering close to the ground. The faint sign of two small lines led from the drop point into the backyard.
“Good stuff, Cubie. Let’s follow them.” A glimmer of hope entered Zetius’s voice. “Maybe they’re still alive.”
There, the massive fence was torn and collapsed into pieces, with splinters and nails littering the dirt.
A similar fashion was observed. “It’s broken from the inside.” Zetius nodded, moving faster now.
A few droplets of blood spotted the wooden fence.
Zetius projected their path; the dark woods loomed around them.
“Over here! More trail!” Cubie exclaimed, zipping ahead enthusiastically.
“So they went into the woods… The local legends, huh?” Zetius grumbled, his eye twitching.