{HAZE-4} Investigation — Iter

With a new week brings new dawns, and soon the fruits of one’s labor shall—

“AIEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

The cry of a damsel rings true through the hallowed halls of the Casino. Some present did not feel the need to pay heed to yet another cry among the masses, but the good name of Calcifer Ichabod VII, the Sanguineous Scourge Upon the Lands rode upon responding to the beck and call of the Hazebloom Damsel… and that was no ordinary cry. A chill ran through Calcifer’s bones as he dashed to the scene, shears in hand to strike down his foes, when he had to behold a gruesome sight.

A patchy field of destruction — the older hazebloom plants weathered the storm, but the fresh blooms hath been trimmed, ripped, torn asunder… and off to the side, a teary-eyed Hops quickly pulled extra seeds and some shovels to clear the damage from a nearby storage shed. She was quite deep in thought… but Calcifer’s approaching footsteps caught her attention.

“Lord Calcifer…”
“Damsel Hops — what happened here?! Upon my visitation yesterday, the gardens were nearly ready for a full bloom… but now the plants are patched, shorn like a well-worn stuffed animal.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely a way to describe it…” Her eyes were downcast as they looked out to the field. “I don’t know how it happened… I’ve already let security know, so all I can do is clean up the remains and plant fresh seeds. The hazeblooms, the other veggies too—” She motioned out to the other fields and the concerned buns that investigated them, “—all the fields behind the Casino were hit pretty bad by this… whatever it was. One of the guys said they found a hole in one of the hedges, so they’re getting it fixed… but…” She pouted once more; obviously there was more at play than just the anger and disappointment at having one’s work pulled up—quite literally—by the roots.

“Mmm… the fact that you’ve already taken up your shovel and seed proves that the shape of your soul is strong, Damsel Hops.” With as much reassurance as he could muster, Calcifer patted Hops’ shoulder. “These guard folk may not have been as persistent as one would like, but… with reprimand from higher in the chain, perhaps they will change their ways. Should we let Angora—”
“Oh no, not yet!” Hops sniffled, looking slightly alarmed. “I… I feel like I can handle this myself. I’m sure Angora’s already been informed anyway… ugh. When we catch whatever could have done this…” Hops swung the shovel she had in her hands with emphasis, causing Calcifer to take a step back. “Haah! I’m not violent normally, but HAAH! But… I don’t have any time to waste; since I’ve got other people securing the perimeter, I’m the one who has to replant the hazeblooms.”
“And I am sure you require my assistance in this, no?” Admittedly this probably wasn’t a situation that Calcifer should stick his nose in… but remember… no hazeblooms, no reward from Angora. Who dares take the hazeblooms—his intellectual REWARD—away from him? Calcifer nodded in agreement—surely, they must repair their losses posthaste.

“Actually… Lord Calcifer, Scourge of the Lands… if I could ask for your assistance in another matter…”
“Oho?” She recited his title… eh, close enough to be respectful. Calcifer’s eyebrow raised in interest as Hops pulled out a notepad and handed it off to him.
“I took notes of what the guards found around the Casino’s gardens… Do you think you could look into it? Like, gathering more information about what could have done this… and maybe check around Burrowgatory to see if other peoples’ gardens were affected? I’m sure for a bun with such a keen eye as yours, this task would be trivial.”
“I see…” Purely out of habit, Calcifer started flipping through the notes. The aforementioned hole in the hedge, which plots were hit the hardest, accounts from some other guards… This was a good start, but they needed more to make a definitive judgment on what the culprit could be.

“It would really help, Lord Calcifer… I could even put in an extra word for you with Angora about more rewards—”
“Hmph!” With one hand, Calcifer closed the notebook. “No need for an extra bribe, Damsel. It is quite impertinent that any creature thinks itself bold enough to steal from under the nose of the great Calcifer Ichabod VII. Hearken my word! The matter shall be investigated posthaste.”
“Aww, thanks m’lord! You really are a lifesaver…” Hops sniffed, wiping away a beaded tear. “Good luck… and, yeah. Thank you for the extra encouragement… I’ll do my best to replant, too.”

And with that, the proprietor of The Hoarde had a new objective… something that he must do above all else. Who out there in our great Burrowgatory shared the same grief that Damsel Hops did? It was up to Calcifer to find out.

…

“My garden?” As he leaned on his mochi mallet, Dan squinted his eyes in an effort to understand what was said to him.
“Indeed, Deity of Mochi Dan. Inform me of your woes, no matter how small! On the names of the denizens of the Wonderland Casino, it shall—”
“Alright, alright already!” If anything, Dan looked more annoyed at this pompous straight-horned prick than anything that could’ve happened in his garden. He sighed, looking over to Shibani’s sleeping form… then back to Calcifer.

“It was the flowers I grew for my floral mochi, okay? Chunks taken outta the whole field, and some of my other ingredients were hit up too. Setting up a mesh solved the problem eventually… but the damage’s already done, gah. I did find some black fur caught on it after a day or so… dunno if that’ll help.” From a spot off to the side, Dan snatched up a little baggie with the dark fur in it, handing it off to Calcifer.

“A plethora of information! Thank thee greatly, Deity D—”
“Yeah yeah, just get going already.”

With a half-surprised peep, Calcifer tucked the fur sample away and slinked off to a place where Dan’s angry gaze wouldn’t follow…

…

“Our… gardens, love?” Oleander was basically straddling a very red Calcifer’s leg… but he’d stopped as soon as Calcifer asked the question.
“Y-yes! A… any clue… would be beneficial to the cause of the Wonderland Casino, Oleander the High Believer.”
“Hmm… oh, actually… hold on one moment.”

Oleander backed up, shuffling around in a nearby shelf before pulling out a stack of notes and wandering back, talking as he walked.

“Our followers that tend to the gardens had encountered quite the pickling conundrum, Danny.”
“… don’t call me Danny…” Calcifer’s quiet grumble went completely unnoticed as Oleander searched for the right sheet.
“As of late, our freshly sprouted milkweed as well as several vegetable plots had taken a nasty beating… ah, here it is. One of our artistic priests drew the little hoofprints that I found nearby… I hope this is enough to help you find the culprit.”

Without even noticing it, Oleander had walked up to Calcifer—almost up onto Cal’s legs once more—and slipped the note containing the drawing into Calcifer’s pocket.

“T-thank youuu… High Believer Oleander…”
“Mmhm. Don’t be a stranger, Danny!”
“D-don’t call me Danny! Okay, goodbye!”

No bad thoughts. No bad thoughts. No bad thoughts. He had to get going, there’s still more work to do—

…

“Wo-o–o-w! Fur, hoofprints, this MUST be an imp! It HAS to be!” Upon seeing the other clues that Calcifer had gathered prior, Hutch was basically up on their counter with how enthusiastic they became.
“Certainly that is a possibility, Hutch the Tamer of Wild Beasts! I will note it down posthaste.” Calcifer scribbled down in the notepad as Hutch continued at mach speed.

“Right right right! There’s b-been a sudden uptick in people asking how to protect their g-gardens from imps and pests! I-I’ve done a couple house calls, and boy oh boy — I keep missing them! I’m sooo a-annoyed that my tactics aren’t w-working, but I managed to catch a g-glimpse of a silhouette — look, I even took a p-picture and made copies… here, t-take one! Right there, yeah.” The picture of the odd creature was slipped into Calcifer’s notebook without much struggle… and Hutch kept going. “I can’t m-make out a shape, but see?! Antlers?! I have so many things I think it could be, maybe some sort of… new freign? But also… ahh, but maybe… but what if…”

Awkwardly, as Hutch began to drag on and on about their theories… Calcifer backed up, slinking out the door of the Imporium. His job here was done anywho…

…

“… and, Damsel Hops, that is what I have managed to gather.”
“I see, I see…” With a sparkle in her eye, Hops looked up at Calcifer. “This has to be it, right? It. IT! It can’t be anything else but…”
“Oh… Damsel Hops, you are not suggesting…”

“The fae king.” The two of them uttered that phrase at the same time, then shared a knowing look.
“Damsel Hops…”
“Preparations must be made to counter the fae king’s evil forces, right? Even if they want to prevent us from growing hazeblooms…”
“It is the gift that they have given unto us buns. The nature of a gift is that it cannot be revoked at a moment’s notice! An unjust mindset must be cleansed in its entirety… even if it means defying the higher powers themselves.”
“You’re right, Lord Calcifer!” With an enthusiastic jump, Hops looked to the garden.

“For now, we’ll tend the garden like normal. But soon… we’ll enact our plan. And it will be… glorious.” With that line, Calcifer smiled. Soon he will have justice… and his reward.