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  Chapter 222 Part B7

  The fae intelligence operatives began combing the Gss Rose Inn immediately. The whole street area, and block behind the inn had agents looking around. Some were standing around as if watching. Others were analyzing the area with magic scans, or looking for clues.

  Within an hour the entire block was surrounded by elf like people in bck suits combing the site. All of them were searching for clues. In fact, they were finding stuff in unlikely pces. They checked everything. The alleys. The street behind the block on the other side. The neighboring backyards and yards of everything connected to the Gss Rose Inn. Even under the front porch was looked into. Someo had used flight magic to check the chimneys though that was more difficult since they were still in use.

  By itself the inn looked like just about every other adventurer's inn. Like other inns there were many adventurers of all levels and ranks staying there. It had a rger dining area than others, with a rather exquisite quality level of the bar and pub area also. It had a very good polished hardwood look to it with expensive dining setup that was pleasing to the eye. Many paintings of various adventurers were on dispy in the dining hall also for a cultural experience and to draw in customers. One wall even had paintings of monsters, one of them was a red dragon breathing fire on a town.

  As the agents converted at the site of the inn and its surrounding area, they can see already numerous adventurers are already having meals and getting ready to move.

  5:41 AM

  "This is agent Speck. I've found a body in the alley directly behind the inn. Near the garbage bins. Appears to be a female naked, age 27 years old. Not a natural death. Over."

  "This is control we've received our message. Transmitting message to other agents in the nearby area. Maintain your position and secure the site. No one goes in our out except our staff," the control mage said in the communication tower.

  ...

  5:47 AM

  "Control, this is Agent Ryd'zyl. I'm not far from the alley area where the other agent found the body. At my position, using detection magic I've been detecting demon mana in the area, particurly the alley ways, but not confined to only the alley. Traces show this was mostly probably about 14 hours ago? And possibly even up to 20 hours ago. Give or take."

  "This is control. Copy that. Good work agent please continue your analysis. We've transmitted message to the investigation team. Be advised you have pinclothes agents in the area also. Additional units on standby. 2 emergency vehicles are also 1 block over with healers if you run into difficulties."

  ...

  6:11 AM

  "Control. This is the agent in charge, Dzez'dek. We're now entering the inn after checking for evidence outside. We'll be immediately scanning the inn occupants starting with the dining area. We're also sending a few men to go over the guest list."

  "This is control. We're monitoring your position. Advise us if you need additional units. Given that demon mana was detected you cannot be too careful. Over."

  Right away agents were moving... into the inn. Several had swords and wands out. But they still hoped they wouldn't need them.

  The inn reception desk was armed to see 4 agents at the same time approach the desk.

  "W-w-w-elcome to the Gss R-Rose Inn. Can I h-help you?" the teenage girl stammered.

  "We need to see the guest list. Immediately," an agent said.

  "Its right there. But someone else already looked at it," the receptionist frowned.

  "No. This is the first time we've requested it," the agent replied.

  "Well one of your guys was looking at it already," she said.

  "We still need to see it. And we should be the first here," the agent gred.

  "Whatever. Knock yourself out with it. Its not that special. I don't even know why you'd give a crap about it," the receptionist said.

  "Is it all there? You don't take any pages out for previous days?" one of them asked.

  "No. We use it in full for our bookkeeping. We wouldn't be able to keep track of our income and expenses if we took out pages. Which is also why we have to say don't damage it and we need it back by tomorrow. Once a week we have to order food in for our chefs. And we can't do that without making sure we're buying the right amounts. To do that we use our guest lists," the receptionist said.

  "That won't be necessary for us to take it with us. We can take magic snapshots of the information needed. We won't disturb if we can avoid it," the one agent said.

  "Miss? Please look over here. Thank you. Have you seen anyone unusual tely? Maybe guests that didn't quite fit right? Maybe someone or something unusual? Or anything that seemed abnormal?" one agent asked.

  "Everyone seems just about like normal. This is a good inn. We don't usually have problems. We haven't seen anything unusual. Everyone is paid up. No problems with inn customers. We have our own bouncer for troublesome guests at the bar, but so does every other bar or restaurant that serves alcohol after dark," the receptionist shrugged.

  "Just a moment while we confer with our colleagues," the agent said.

  They took the guest roster book with them, and the 4 of the agents began to talk in a corner sitting in a dining area table booth.

  "Guest roster checks out. I don't see anyone here that's unusual," the one frowned.

  "Do you have your race detection enchant going? Run that on the roster," one said.

  He did so...

  "Hm... nothing unusual. Dang it," he said.

  ...

  "Let's go over it again. Try to split up and interview everyone. Ask about every guest. Ask each guest what they know about other guests too. This is going to take awhile," the lead agent sighed.

  ...

  6:51 AM

  "Hey let's ask that miss over there at the desk, who takes out their trash? That'd be good to ask right? The person that takes the trash out should have noticed the body," an agent said.

  "Good question."

  "We might have to ask if its the same person or a different person from day to day," one said.

  They went back into the inn. Then they reyed the request.

  "Who took out the trash? Well if it was st night, that'd be Lacey. She always does it. Its one of her duties as a chef's apprentice," the receptionist girl said.

  "Lacey? What's her st name? Is she at work today?" the agent asked.

  "Lacey took some time off. She put in for time off st week. She said she wasn't feeling well. She won't be in for the rest of the week either. I'm sorry," the receptionist said.

  The agents moved away to talk amongst themselves.

  "Damn it. I really hoped we'd get another clue."

  "If only we could talk to her. She might have seen something," one said.

  "Lacey huh... OK. I'm writing it down."

  "We just have to keep asking the right questions. Hang in there," the other said.

  ...

  The agents kept working the scene.

  ~7:45 AM

  "Uh, hey wait a second. I think we have another body here," an agent said.

  "Where?"

  "Stuffed into the sewer under the grating cover. Its in the storm drain system. I almost missed it," one of them said.

  "What? Another body? How close is that to the other one?" his partner asked.

  "Maybe 100 feet away?"

  "Let me guess. This one is also a young female, also no clothes on?" the one said.

  "F----ing demons. We really need to get them for this. I'm sure its them," the one said.

  ...

  By 11:30 AM they'd confirmed other bodies in the storm drain system. There wasn't just 1 female body. There were 4 of them. All with the same traits and damage. All of them naked and young. And stuffed in the storm drainage area that goes under the street.

  "Wait a second. This doesn't smell right. How can there be so many and nobody's noticed anything? And they should have noticed a smell coming from the drain. G-d I want to puke fromt his smell," one agent said.

  "Yeah that smells like... some zombie diarrhea man."

  "Oh. I think you might be onto something. I mean... how could someone even come by here without noticing this g-d awful smell?! This is gut renching," the other agent said.

  "Hey we need to ask again about the girl that took out the trash. There's no way she didn't smell this," one said.

  "Ah... your right. I don't see how they couldn't notice this. Wait, how long have those bodies been there?" one asked.

  "At least 3 days."

  "And we should have asked when the trash girl started her vacation time to compare against that," one said.

  "Good thinking."

  "Oh. Yes. We need more follow up on that. OK. Let's go back. Probably gonna annoy the sh-- out of that receptionist girl though," one sighed.

  "So do something nice. Maybe order a meal and some drinks. That way we're not using up her time for nothing. Also it'll put her at ease. Plus we skipped breakfast," one agent said.

  "Ah yes. I'm so hungry actually. Hardly ate st night also."

  "OK. Let's do this. Wow that bacon and eggs smell from their kitchen smells like heaven," another said.

  "Shut up, your making me hungry."

  They went back to the dining area of the restaurant section of the inn. There the food was sending beautiful scents in the air that made them risk a morale check.

  But given that its almost lunch there's more people now. And some of the guests are noticing the city agents and guards all over the pce.

  "Is something going on?" an adventurer asked them.

  "Nothing to worry about citizen. We're protecting the locals and serving you," an agent said stiffly.

  "Right..." the adventurer went and told his team that, 'there was nothing to worry about', as they stared at the swarm of agents all over the pce that were making them uncomfortable.

  They weren't the only ones to ask about this. Many people wondered what was going on with that many agents there. But nobody got a truthful answer.

  But soon the 6 agents (2 more had joined) were sitting at a table in the dining area. "We're ready to order. And also we have a question for the inn reception girl," the head agent told a waitress.

  "Sure. I'll tell her but she's kinda busy so give her a minute to come over. I'll take your orders now," she told them.

  "Damn whats this pic on the menu? That looks really good," one said.

  "That's an Isekai lost person meal item. Supposedly it comes from some pce that a lot of humans came from. They call it a hamburger. It comes in a combo also. Its really good. Especially with bacon and avocado on it," the waitress said.

  "Hm... that does sound good. I'll try that."

  "Excellent choice. And you sir?"

  "I want the uh... breakfast special."

  "Me too," another said.

  "Me three."

  And you?"

  "I want the bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy with hashing potatoes. I want real butter on the side, enough to spread over all of this glorious food," the fae agent said.

  "Its hashed potatoes, not hashing," his friend said.

  "Oh sue me for not knowing human customs or speaking their lingo right," came a scowl.

  "I'll have what he's having too," another said. "Biscuits and gravy are to kill for."

  Several of them nodded to that.

  ...

  A few minutes ter the receptionist girl came over. "They said you guys had questions?"

  "Yeah, uh you said the girl that takes out the trash went on vacation? We had some questions about that," the head agent said.

  "Yep. She went on vacation st night," the receptionist said.

  "OK. But you said she'd put in the request earlier that week?" the agent asked.

  "Um... I think so...?"

  "What do you mean? Which is it?"

  The receptionist slowed a bit, thinking. "I-I'm not really sure."

  "Tell us who tookk the request?"

  "I think someone told me that. Yeah. I was told she would go out of town a few days," the receptionist girl said acting a bit slow.

  "Your boss told you? Or someone else?" the agent asked.

  "The man in the brown hat," the receptionist said.

  "Brown hat? None of your staff wear a brown hat," one agent said.

  The receptionist began staring off into space. "I... I can't remember."

  "Is your boss here?"

  "Yes."

  "Does he have a brown hat?"

  "No. He hates hats."

  "But you said someone in the brown hat?"

  "Did I? Um... I'm just so tired today," the receptionist said. "What was the question again?"

  "And you were told to say she, that is Lacey, went out of town when?" an agent asked.

  "I think I was told she went out of town 3 days ago. But ...Oh man. I have such a headache. My head hurts," the receptionist girl said.

  The agents then stood up quickly. Two of them grabbed her just as she was about to faint. And some of them were looking around the room armed.

  "Yep. I'm detecting mind magic. Someone has erased her memory and given her false memories," one of them said.

  "Damn it. Someone is f----ing with us. Mind magic... this is an escation for sure."

  "Sh--. A mind mage? That's more dangerous now. I get it now. She was told to say the girl went out of town days earlier. But that girl was actually here st night. That conflicts with each other. And this man in the brown hat doesn't even work here. And somehow he gave her orders to say it. But she somehow thought it was her boss but it isn't. He must be the one we're looking for," the agent said.

  "Is he... he's probably one of those demons isn't he? Some demons have mind magic," one of them said.

  They stiffened. "And they did detect demon magic traces. This is him."

  "We better be careful. They could be nearby. And.. if they are. They won't go down without a fight. That's how they are," the chief agent said.

  "Anyway settle down. We still need to eat. Also we need to get one of those illusionists over here to help this girl form a sketch of the man in the brown hat. We can't do hardly anything until that gets done," the assistant leader said.

  "Wait. 2 more questions for you miss," the leader said.

  "Please hurry. My head hurts and I want to go y down," the receptionist sniffed. She also had a bloody nose now.

  "I'm so sorry miss. Just bear with me on this. Is the bouncer here? You said there was one that works here."

  "Oh. Jeff? I haven't seen Jeff all day. That's weird. He doesn't like taking time off. I don't see him and haven't yet today. But sometimes he takes a smoke break out back. You can check for him there," she said.

  They checked and Jeff was ... missing.

  "Thanks Miss. You can go rest now. Maybe see if someone can take over your shift. You don't look well," one of them said.

  "I'll do that..." she stumbled around.

  ...

  "Man it sucks that we have to hurry up and wait," the other said.

  Several nodded.

  One of them then stiffened a bit. And he opened up his status screen. "OK. I just got another magemail from control. They are now up to 11 bodies. More were found in the sewer. Also, all of them the same."

  Several of them swore.

  "So we have a demon problem for sure now," the leader swore.

  "Its worse than you think. This many bodies, there's probably many demons here. Not just one. This is 11 bodies within a week. But normally a demon ... if its some kind of incubus he'd try to keep them for awhile and py around with them. He wouldn't discard them immediately. Unless there's a whole pack of them," the veteran agent with the most combat experience said.

  The agents all stiffened.

  "And we actually should check the other inns if that's the case. We now need to know like yesterday if this is only happening at this inn, or at other inns all over the city," one of them said.

  "..." The agents seemed armed even more now.

  "Control this is the team leader at the site. I think we're going to need reinforcements at my position at the Gss Rose Inn. Send several combat ready squads. If possible send units with demon hunting experience. We also are requesting scouts be sent to the 2 inns closest to this one in the city for 'wellness checks'."

  Their food was now getting cold. They were a bit too scared to eat now, that they knew that there was likely going to be a confrontation soon.

  "What can we do now while we wait?"

  "I don't care if there are demons or not. I'M GOING TO EAT THIS FOOD. NOW!" one of them threatened.

  "Amen to that. That smells like heaven."

  "Hey. We haven't looked at that fae military secretary yet. Did they identify who she was?" one of them asked as they ate.

  "I've asked about that. But because its a military staffer, they have to go through chain of command to authorize an information release before they'll give out the name. That's why we're not pursuing that lead yet," the team leader said.

  "OK...dang it. This is like hurry up and wait. It drives me nuts. We're soo close to cracking this case wide open. Its like all the clues are coming out. But then there's some other roadblock right when we get to the good part," one of them said.

  Just then, the front door of the inn opened. And a fae military uniformed elf like woman came into the building with long legs in a skirt. She stood out with long silvery hair like that.

  "OH! Hey, I think I know her. That's um...Ness something," one of them said.

  "Eh? You know Ness'ryn'dyl? She was in one of my magic csses decades ago," the other agent said.

  "Meh. All fae seem to know each other somehow," one of them said.

  "Yeah that's her. Ness'ryn'dyl."

  "Um... could it be... is she the one we were trying to get the name for that worked for someone important that was staying here?" one agent asked.

  Several of them looked up right then. There's no way it was a coincidence. She was the one they were looking for! The missing puzzle piece!