Raising Wonders

Chapter 13: Predetermined Chaos. (Part 4)

The day had been an odd one. It began with the news of death but would be remembered as a time the city had gathered to show its strength even in the bleakest winter. Now night, the quiet of the world had settled back in.

"Good work today," the Handler made her presence known as she slipped in through the window.

"Shh," Mask quietened her and beckoned her to join him at the table. "Chloe is sleeping. She had a rather excitable day." Once the Handler was seated he cast his spell, sealing the sound around them.

"Like I said, good work today," the Handler restarted. "Your antics shifted the mood in the city by a full swing."

"Until we find the dungeon core we need to keep it this way," Mask tapped his finger on the table in thought. "Did you find any clues?"

"You could say that," she pushed some notes towards him. "I tracked the movement of the people when you bought in that wurm. With the information you and Chloe gathered it was easy to spot the outliers."

Mask nodded as he read through the notes and names, "I gather they weren't too impressed with our antics?"

"They want the city to remain in a tenuous state, though for various reasons it seems. I've excluded those purely in it for profit, the names at the bottom however are those who had close relation to the City Lord and reacted interestingly." She smiled, "My spies in the Council meeting today reported similar accounts."

"You already have spies?"

"Of course I do," the Handler gloated. "But back on to topic. The Council meeting was a mess and aside from a few members they all began to scramble for power. The vast majority no longer care for the majority of Toren's people. On that list, Sir Kafka is the most prominent to succeed, however instead of pushing ahead, he's just adding fuel to the fire. The other two on the list are the same and are acting in exact opposition to Sir Kafka, but that's only on the surface level."

"The longer it takes for the leaders of the city to settle down the more anxious the people will get," Mask nodded. "Without knowing the core's progress, a single disaster incident like the winter festival could kick the core into evolving."

"Indeed," the Handler frowned but turned it into a sly grin. "That's why we step up your plan. Leave the council to bicker and put the focus of the people onto Ron. He already has good relation to Lady Berca and Mr Argus, those two have been more vocal since the City Lord's death. The problem is weeding out the rot."

Mask clasped his hands and sighed, "That's my job."

"You don't seem as confident. Is it the Paladin?"

"He's a threat but it's not that."

"Then it's Chloe," the Handler hit the nail on the head.

"I have to wonder what I look like in that child's eyes. She knows what I do, and partially what I've done." He laughed callously, "It's been a long while since I cared what someone thought of me."

"When we joined the Problem Solvers we all knew that we'd have to take lives. If the world was innocent enough where we could talk it out and understand each other, then I would have opened a flower shop."

"A flower shop, really?"

"Hmm that or become a Whalian. I've always wanted to fly through the skies on a whale. If it makes you feel better, Chloe is definitely more mature than her age would suggest. She doesn't see the world as black and white. I can also tell she respects you a lot. Maybe she even likes you," she laughed at her own comment. "In the end we have to finish the job. If we lose Toren, we lose more than just a city in the North. I also don't like whoever is lurking in the shadows." The handler messed with her hair annoyed, "Damn it when I sent you on this job they said it was a simple City Lord exploiting his people job! This is your fault for getting me more involved!"