“And to start: we’re gonna catch ourselves a kidnapper.”
Sophie looks at Jarl strangely. Her stormy blue eyes glance at Hagen momentarily, as though to silently ask him what on God’s great EARTH their priest is rambling on about, before looking back at Jarl disbelievingly.
Their apothecary mirrors her move for move.
“Wha—catch? What are you talking about?”
“Think about it: whoever did this had KANE move Jasey; why would he do this unless he’s staying behind?”
The Head Nun sits up a bit straighter, eyes widening as she catches on to what Jarl is saying. “He’s still here,” she murmurs, voice quiet for Manus but still awed. “This whole time, the kidnapper’s been right HERE!”
Jarl nods at her, “Exactly: for some reason, he didn’t go with them to Devil’s Cavern—it might even be WHY the magic trail that the Elders were tacking ended up there when it started here: it began with the summons and probably ended with an attempt to teleport there that had the Elders shut down Devil’s Cavern.”
“Shut down?” Sophie questions, leaning in and adopting her investigation mode as Jarl used to jokingly call it. She’d always been an inquisitive person—even if she didn’t fully appreciate who or what she was studying—to the point that she used to be their very own Sherlock Holmes of Shantown when they were younger (they’d even spent hours in Jarl’s backyard pretending they were solving crimes for Jasey’s entertainment; Jarl, of course, usually ended up being Lestrade [complete with a handmade uniform because Sophie’s mom actually knows how to crochet] while Hagen always enjoyed being Watson; and when Manus joined them, Jasey practically demanded he play, too, so the mage gleefully picked the role of Irene for himself; interestingly, Jasey always enjoyed the role of Mycroft [even though that meant being Sophie’s brother—honestly, it was true enough], perhaps, because of The Diogenes Club). “You mean blacklisted?”
“Hagen told you?”
They both nod. The apothecary in question also looks thoughtful, though: “Z’at is an interesting z’ought, z’ough… I had been assuming z’ey took Jasey togez’er and z’e trigger vas some spell being cast…”
“That honestly seems just as likely,” Sophie comments dryly; “If not MORE so… why…?”
She trials off as she looks back at Jarl. The priest looks back at her determinedly.
“Kane took Jasey to Devil’s Cavern ALONE—all witnesses say so.
“That means the real kidnapper stayed and only he knows why.”
~
“Z’at is fair; but how do ve find him NOW if ve couldn’t before?”
Jarl grins at them. “You two are going to talk about finding Jasey.”
“V/WHAT‽”
“Shhh!” The distant duo slam their mouths shut as the priest quickly looks behind himself to check on Manus. All three of them relax as soon as Jarl confirms the mage is still asleep.
“Sorry; but, seriously…”
The holy man nods, waving the apology away. “I get it. What I meant was: talk to people about our progress; tell them we know where Jasey is, who has him, even drop the name Kane, and see how they react.”
Hagen sits up, eye wide and wondering, “You mean vor us to see who is vorried.”
Jarl nods and points to the apothecary with a grin, “Exactly. Make them sweat.”
Sophie huffs at the two of them, seeming to think them ridiculous.
But, slowly, she nods, too; “I can do that easily during the mocks.”
~
“Mocks???”
“Ah!” Sophie’s entire face flushes and Hagen looks at her genuinely amused. Jarl watches them in fascination, having never really seen them like this before: their mutual sternness never really allowed for it, not even during their childhood games—in fact, that was half the reason they excelled as Sherlock and Watson.
“Soph?”
The Head Nun covers her face with her hand for a moment, breathing deeply to calm and center herself, before folding both hands in her lap and looking at Jarl dead on: stormy blue to sky blue. “I can’t hold masses; but the people need to gather and discuss. So, I created mock masses. They’re really just social functions; but… they do seem to be helping: people seem to be more relaxed and a lot calmer about you being gone—the sign-in sheets are even seeing less use now that I have these coalitions in place.”
A smile, proud and impressed, slowly crosses Jarl’s face, “Sign-in sheets?”
Sophie clears her throat, blush still across her cheeks, as she nods:
“Yes… for you to deal with when you come back.”
(Jarl now fears the paper mountain on his desk.)
~
“But, otherwise… how is Shantown?”
Hagen quietly pours the Head Nun some more tea, appearing to already know what she’s going to say. Probably, he does; Jarl would believe it: they’ve probably been talking, the two of them, more than just prior to their midnight call, and shared with each other more than Sophie, at least, has with Jarl.
Not that he blames her: he didn’t share much, either.
Sophie accepts the apothecary’s brew with a quiet thank you. “It’s… She’s well. Mostly. I…” The Head Nun’s brows furrow, forming an eddy beneath her religious veil’s seam; Jarl remembers how her mother, Valéria, used to rub circles into Sophie’s forehead—like a priest giving a blessing—making her daughter giggle and smile: he kind of wishes he could do the same (but friends can never do what mothers can…). The nun huffs, “Something’s going on with the money.”
“The money???”“We don’t seem to have enough of it.” Sophie takes a sip of her tea to collect herself before continuing, “Despite the fact that many of our biggest expenditures have been cancelled, we’re running low on funds and I have no idea why: I can’t figure out where the money is going. I thought, perhaps, it’s the sign-in sheets; but paper and ink wouldn’t cost THAT much. I tried looking into other supplies but food, farming, repairs… Nothing seems to be WRONG, just… difficult to handle alone…”
Jarl frowns but nods in understanding; after all: this is the entire reason they always worked on it TOGETHER; “I’ll be back as soon as I can be; with Jasey; and then you can bury me in all the paperwork you want.”
Sophie laughs, “I look forward to it.”
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