Chapter Text
Angus McDonald was not just the world’s greatest detective. Heir to a fortune. Born into one of the most influential families in all of Feyrun. From a young age he had been praised as a prodigy. By five he was smart enough to understand complex, abstract concepts, and was reading his way through his parents library. At seven he became interested in being a detective, and began to make a name for himself as an investigator. However it wasn't his intelligence that Angus treasured most. His greatest advantage had always been his youth. It could be irritating at times. However Angus knew that someday he would outgrow it, so he bore the babying with patience, and exploited the heck out of it in the meantime. People underestimate him. So Angus wielded it to its highest potential.
At ten, when he joins the Borough of Balance, he doesn't intend to get so attached. He already has parents, even if they are a little distant and out of touch, and that’s the way that Angus likes it. However without intending to, Angus finds himself calling the moon base home more often than not. No one treats him like a ten year old genius that will inherit an obscene fortune when he’s older. No one whispers as he walks by or stops talking the moment he enters a room. Yes they still treat him like a kid. But they also respect him as a person. There’s no fear or awe. They tease him. Want to see him and play pranks with him. Which is something that Angus finds himself even more appreciative of than being underestimated.
So it isn't hard for him to decide that he’s going to protect his little moon family, and will use all of his resources to ensure it.
*******
It's fully dark when Hecate gets home. Angus can hear her grumbling clearly from the living room as she kicks off her shoes at the front door. He waits in the darkness, sitting easily in the middle of the couch, listening. Mavis and Mookie are staying with Merle this weekend. Angus knows this because he had made it so. It was easy to ensure that Hecate got a call from her work, asking her to come in. Which she of course said yes to because she needed the hours. Her regular babysitter had been paid off to say that they couldn’t work last minute, so Merle was the only one that could take the kids. Angus would in fact be having breakfast with them in the morning once he was done with this.
“Hello Mrs. Churchill,” Angus chirps from his seat as Hecate goes to walk by the entrance to the living room. “Or do you prefer your maiden name? Just calling you Hecate seems disrespectful.”
She startles, twice. Once at the sound of his voice, and again once Angus reaches over and turns on one of the lamps beside him. Sure she has dark vision as a dwarf, but Angus is amused by how similar this is to a scene straight out of one of his Caleb Cleveland novels. So he indulges his sense of drama this once. Sitting primly on the couch like a tiny burglar in the half lit room. His smile was cheerful and bright.
Hecate stares for a moment before coming a step closer, clearly confused. “Who are- how did- no, what are you doing in my house?” She stutters a bit before forcing herself to speak. Sounding cross for finding an unknown child in her home.
Angus just continues to smile politely, “Ah, yes. I don't think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting have we? I’m Angus McDonald.”
“Angus?” He caters eyes narrow in recognition, “The same Angus that's friends with Mavis and Mookie? Did Merle drop you off here?”
“Yes, I’m that Angus,” the young detective says while relaxing into the cushions behind him. “And no, Merle doesn't know I'm here. The official story is that I'm doing a steak out for a case at the moment. No one currently knows I'm here, and no one will.”
Hecate shook her head, completely missing the hidden meaning in Angus’ words as she reached for her stone of far speech. “That's no good kid. Your parents outta know where you-”
“Four thousand and three hundred gold.”
Hecate froze her face paying as her dark eyes met Angus’. Several heartbeats of silence passed before she croaked, “What did you say?”
Angus’ smile was no longer cheerful, it was sharp at the edges. “Four thousand and three hundred gold. That is how much you owe to your battle wagon bookie in Goldcliff, is it not? And no wonder since you keep betting against the Raven to win. Awfully deep hole you’ve dug yourself into. Not even full time adventurers see that kind of gold outside of a dragon hoard.”
Hecate swallowed hard, her eyes darting around the room as if to make sure they were alone before speaking. “If Letterman sent you-”
“He didn't,” Angus interrupted again, “though he was planning on sending someone soon to have a… ‘talk’ with you about your unfortunate luck. I convinced him to wait until I had spoken to you. To see if you and I couldn't work out a deal of our own.”
Hecate’s face was pale with shock at this point. This little boy, seemingly so innocent, had broken into her home, subtly threatened her, implied he had connections to the Goldcliff mob, and was now subtly blackmailing her. So when Angus tilted his head toward the chair to his left, a clear order to have a seat, she meekly crossed the room and sat. Angus held out his hand, palm up. Hecate startled, unsure.
“Your stone, Miss Hecate,” Angus sighed.
She had completely forgotten the stone of far speech still clutched in her sweaty hand. Immediately she handed it over. Angus’ smile turned cheerful and innocent once more as he pocketed the device.
“Good. Now let's talk about how you’re going to forget about trying to stop Merle's visitation rights. And how if you do, Letterman will conveniently forget about all that gold you owe him.”
~Line break~
It was an unspoken truth in the town of Underbridge that John Bennet was not a man to be meddled with. He was tall, and he was broad. However his physical stature was the smallest reason that he was equally feared and respected. No, the real reason was that he had money, blackmail, and control of every cart of food that came in and out of the Underdark. The man had at first been a bit of an oddity. Being one of only a handful of humans to live in the massive caverns under Feyrun, amongst dark elves and dwarves, would do that. Very few people came to the Underdark for vacation or leisure activities. The last visitor had been an elf with a cooking show of all things, and people were still talking about that even a decade later.
It was also curious that Mr. Bennet had come during a difficult time. The crops of edible mushrooms that made up the bulk of every table in the Underdark had failed. Too much moisture had come down from the upper caverns and the mushrooms had rotted in the fields. What few crops were salvageable had been crushed by falling stalactites. Starvation seemed unavoidable. Until John Bennet had appeared, and approached farmers and field workers with a solution. You see, John had farming equipment he needed to sell, but more importantly he had seeds for a plant that he was sure could get the Underdark through the approaching famine.
The farmers had been leery of course. They had never worked with this plant before, and couldn't afford to buy both seeds and the ‘specialized tools’ that it needed to grow. With silver tongue John had soothed their fears. He wouldn't accept money for the first batch of seeds, and the payment for the tools could wait until the crop sold. Plus interest, of course. There wasn’t much choice. It was either accept John Bennet’s deal, and be able to feed their families, or face the mercy of the famine. It was no surprise that most farmers took John’s deal and thought themselves lucky. Afterall, free seeds and free tools you didn't have to pay for till the first crop came? John was praised as a saviour for his good will.
So the farmers cleared away the rotten mushrooms and planted what John called ‘Kalen’. It was a plant from topside, of course, John explained how plants from above ground needed more light to grow. So the farmers had taken the tools John had given them and placed lampposts armed with stones enchanted to give the plants sunlight in their fields. Under these conditions the ugly, white radish-like plants exploded with life. Crowding into any spare crack so long as the light hit them. There were several problems though. The lights hurt the eyes and skin of the farmers, having lived in the Underdark their whole lives. On the other hand the lights also dimmed and faded with time, and the plants would start to wilt and die.
To both problems John had the solution. He had special clothes and glasses that could help the workers, and a Mage that could recharge the spells on the light stones. However both of these things cost more money, and the stones needed the spell refreshed quite regularly. Again, John assured the farmers that they didn't need to pay right away. It could wait till the crop came in. Plus interest, of course.
Then the first crop of ‘Kalen’ arrived. The plants were bland and very nearly inedible, but where the light touched grew in abundance and were filling enough to empty bellies. The problem came when John began collecting his due payment. With the added interest rates, extra costs of needing the light stones recharged, and protective equipment for the workers, there were no profits. Farmers found they couldn't pay their workers. Any attempts to harvest new seeds from ‘Kalen’ were unsuccessful, meaning that they had to also buy more seeds from John. A few farmers tried to go back to growing mushrooms, but the light from neighbouring fields stunted their growth. It was only then that people realized what John Bennet had done.
Nearly every farmer in Underbridge was in debt up to their ears to John, and no one could grow anything else but ‘Kalen’. If farmers didn't do what John said, he would stop giving them light and seeds. Which meant no food. From there it trickled up. If John said not to sell any food to the mayor, then no one did. Deals were made. Officials bought or ran off. Rules and laws changed.
John had all of Underbridge by the throat, and he knew it.
A few years passed and things only got worse. People began to get sick, a few began to die. The few clerics that lived in Underbridge were baffled, only able to say that the sickness wasn't a disease. Everyone lived under John’s thumb. His hired goons patrolled the streets, enforcing their twisted sense of justice. Anyone who tried to resist was arrested, and in some cases would simply vanish. People had given up hope that anything would change, that anything could hope to stop this.
Then John’s Mage disappeared.
The wizard that had invented the lampposts, the only one who knew how to recharge them, had completely vanished. Panic rippled through the streets. Guard patrols doubled to keep the peace. If Mr. Bennet wanted to keep his position of power he needed to find his Mage. Already the lights were dimming and plants beginning to wilt. So it was decided that a detective was needed, and John sent a missive to the surface for the best one money could buy.
To everyone’s shock a few days later a little human boy arrived. Claiming to be the ‘world's greatest detective’. John hadn't been pleased, but the fields were beginning to die and unrest was growing. He needed the problem solved quickly. The little boy went around the city, from farm to farm, interviewing everyone he met. However the longer the investigation took, and the dimmer the lights got, the more impatient John became. Then, several days after the young detective had arrived, every sunlamp in Underbridge suddenly died. After years of painful light, the total darkness was a balm to the citizens of Underbridge.
And then the torches lit.
All over Underbridge, the mobs began to form. Marching toward John’s mansion and his hired goons. John Bennet fled from the street and quickly ordered what few guards he had with him to bar the doors and windows. Scrambling with the door handle John burst into his office. Plans of grabbing as much money as he could, maybe collapsing a few cave ceilings on his way out, floated through his thoughts. Thoughts that were cut short when he spotted the detective he hired sitting primly behind his desk.
“Ah! Mr. Bennet, nice of you to drop by,” Angus chirped. “Or should I be calling you by your given name, Mr. Kalen?”
John- or rather, Kalen- froze in shock. Before he could recover Angus stood from his seat and rounded the desk, hands in his pockets, continuing to speak.
“I have to say that it was disappointingly easy to track you down sir. I mean really? Running a similar version of the scam you pulled at Raven’s Roost is one thing. But naming the plant you're selling after your hidden identity? Sloppy, very sloppy,” Angus tisked through his teeth. Like a teacher scolding a particularly dim student.
“You little brat,” Kalen hissed, “you’re responsible for this mess aren't you? You’ve ruined me!”
“Well at least you’re smart enough to figure that much out,” the young detective drawled in a board tone.
Without a second thought Kalen lunged for the boy, grabbing Angus by the front of his sweater vest. Fully intending to strangle the child that had foiled his plans. A sharp pain in his hand stopped him. Literally. His body tensed, completely out of his control, every muscle frozen in place as he tipped sideways to the floor. Angus smoothly sidestepped Kalen's falling body, looking down at the man at his feet with a chilling little smile while holding up a small needle he had taken from his pocket.
“Don't worry. The poison isn't deadly, at least not in such a small dose. The paralytic effects should wear out in a little over five hours. I imagine by then that your guards will have stood down to the rest of the city and someone will come for you. After all, you didn't even outsource your hired help. Those guards have families here. The news that you’ve been feeding everyone down here a plant known topside to be a slow acting poison… well I can't imagine the news going over well. Fortunately with the lights, and crushing debt, gone the farmers can go back to growing mushrooms once again.”
“I guess I’ll be taking my pay and leaving now,” tucking away the needle Angus crossed back to the desk. Grabbing one of the larger briefcases of gold he had found hidden around the office. Turning to the door, the young detective stepped over the prone form of Kalen. “Though I will say it wasn't a very hard case. Seems your Mage accidentally wandered into the claws of a Hook Horror at the edge of a field while recharging a lamppost. So unfortunate, but the Underdark can be so dangerous. Don't you think?”
Without waiting for a reply that wouldn't come Angus continued out of the office. Leaving the door open for Kalen to hear the sound of many angry footsteps approaching.
~Line Break~
~Post Story and Song~
“Sazed! You have a visitor!”
The elven man looked up from his card game in surprise at the guards' shout. Careful even in his shock to keep his cards tucked out of sight. Garret, his opponent, was a prolific cheater. Sazed wasn't going to lose two dessert tickets that easy. However he didn't get a visitor very often either.
“Who is it?” He questioned, earning himself an eye roll from the guard.
“I didn't stick around to get his name. Visiting hours are almost over though, so if you’re going, get moving.”
With a scowl Sazed threw down his cards. His hand had been dirt poor anyway, judging by the look on Garret's face as he scooped up the betting pot. The guard followed the elf, guiding him through the various gates and checkpoints to get him into the visiting rooms. As awful as prison was, Sazed was of the option that it could be worse. At least while trapped in a cell he didn't have to worry about scraping by for food or money. All he needed to do was keep his pointy eared head down. It helped that to the prison population he was just another elf doing time.
No one knew that he was actually the elf responsible for the massacre of Glamor Springs. The Day of Story and Song had only broadcasted the life of Taako and his friends up until Lucretia’s betrayal. Any expose on Taako’s life after that time had glossed over the horrible end of his cooking show. Not even mentioning Sazed by name. As if in some attempt to forget him. Something Sazed was grateful for overall. Sazed had, in a moment of weakness, allowed his guilt over the murders to overwhelm him. The almost end of the world could do that to a person. So he had handed himself in at the soonest opportunity. His charges and arrest flew under the media radar by pure luck and the fact they were busy reporting about the literal apocalypse and it's damages. Here, in Browset Prison, he was just another criminal doing time.
Which was why getting a visitor was so out of the ordinary for Sazed. Since his Grandmother passed he didn't have any family. His friends on the outside had lost touch long ago. It was rather sad, but couldn't think of anyone that would want to come here to see him. So Sazed was rather surprised to see that the visitor waiting at his visitation table was just a little boy.
The kid couldn't be any older than ten, eleven at most. His toes skimmed the ground as he swung his legs impatiently. Hands folded politely on the table that barely came over his chest. A cheerful smile of recognition ruling onto his face as he spotted Sazed.
“Oh Gods, please don't tell me this kid is going to say I’m his dad or something,” Sazed prayed quickly as he crossed the visitation room.
The room was incredibly barebones, and bland. Painted a light blue, with plain metal benches so well fixed to the floors not even the Goliath in cellblock four could rip them out. Several other inmates were visiting family and friends at the tables. Voices low enough not to disturb anyone as the guards in the room kept a careful eye on them all. Always watchful for any ‘funny business’.
Taking his seat Sazed attempted to smile back at the kid. His lips accidently pulled into something more like a grimace.
“Um, hey there kid. Do I… do I know you?” He asked hesitantly.
“No Mr. Sazed, at least I don't think so. My name is Angus McDonald and I’m the world’s greatest detective. I’m here to give you some information.”
Sazed’s brow furrowed in confusion, “Information?”
“Yup,” Angus chirped, “you see I’m a good friend of Taako’s, and I know exactly why you’re here in jail, sir.”
Unease pooled thickly in the elf’s stomach, and instantly sweat prickled at the edge of his brow. “A-ah, I see. So then you… you know about that do you?” Sazed cleared his throat, trying and failing to lower the shrill tone in his voice.
“You mean Glamor Springs sir?”
“Yes,” Sazed hissed lowly, trying to keep his voice down. Checking surreptitiously over his shoulder for anyone listening in. “And keep your voice down would you kid? It’s not exactly something I’d like to advertise.”
“Oh but sir,” the little boy said in a sweet voice that made the elf’s ear prickle in warning, “they all already know.”
With a flick of his wrist the young boy snapped his fingers dramatically and every conversation around them instantly came to a halt. In a single movement everyone in the visiting area stood and turned, to stare daggers at Sazed. Heart in his throat Sazed looked wildly around. Even the children he had thought were simple visitors were watching him like hunting dogs waiting for a command. Worse was the fact that not a single guard so much as twitched. Some were staring straight ahead, as if refusing to see anything out of place. Others were missing or turned away, their backs turned to what was happening.
Sazed turned his attention back to the still smiling child in front of him. “You see sir, Taako is a very special person to me. Though you hurt him long before we met I wanted to make sure you understood your position.”
Angus then hopped out of his seat and rounded the table. Sazed stayed frozen in his chair as the boy stepped into his personal space. The boy’s tiny stature making the feeling of being loomed over oddly disconcerting. He didn't so much as dare to blink, staring down at his hands where they lay limp on the table.
“You see sir, it’s a very good thing that you handed yourself in. Otherwise I might have needed to go looking for you myself. As I see it, you’re being suitably punished for your crimes. Forty counts of manslaughter and one count of attempted murder will certainly ensure that you stay here for even an elf’s long life.”
The boy then leaned closer and whispered, “However if you ever begin to feel comfortable here, I want you to remember this moment Mr. Sazed. This is still a prison after all, and bad things happen everyday.”
With a swift turn on his tiny heeled shoe, Angus turned and walked away, the guards all but springing into action to open the doors for him. The standing prisoners and their visitors turned away and sat back down, appearing for all the world as if nothing had happened at all. Leaving a shaking Sazed surrounded on all sides, with nowhere to run.