The young woman startled when someone sat down next to her - she let out a squeak, looking rather nervous at the presence of a stranger. Raoul had covered his tracks well, made a good show of pretending to be an unrelated passerby. It seemed that the young lady was simply that anxious. But she couldn’t just turn away someone who needed help! Especially when he looked so sad…

“Hmm? Oh, yes. My name is Ceres Celestia, nice to meet you.” The young girl dipped her head in a bow, the greeting traditional of the Crescent Isles, rather than a handshake. Studious, mindful of the culture, and incorrigibly naive - that is, if the name she gave was to be believed. Raoul’s keen intuition might tell him that ‘Ceres’ was telling the truth. But he’d been burned once before today… would he be taken advantage of again?

“Oh; thank you!” She murmured, pale cheeks pink at the complement. “I’m nowhere near as talented as my master. They’re a truly talented mage, you see. I’m a student of the Arcane Academy, but I’m traveling around the world to gain experience with the real world and learn from Master Moon- oh! But that’s not what you’re here for.”

As she spoke, the young lady swung her feet back and forth, looking rather bashful even as she began enthusiastically rambling. She paused, sympathetic when he mentioned having a problem.

“I’m sorry to hear that. My mama used to tell me that there wasn’t a problem that couldn’t be solved by a cup of tea… give me a moment!” Before Raoul could learn the answer to his question, the young girl scurried back towards one of the nearby stalls, putting a couple of solars down. In a few seconds she made her way back to the bench, moving with careful steps as to not disturb the liquid within the steaming cup in her hands. Rather proudly, Ceres offered him the cup before sitting next to him once more.

“Conch shells? I think my Master might have said something about one of those.” She tapped at her chin thoughtfully. “I think they said that there were a couple of vendors nearby that were selling some, and that I should avoid going close because they’re not real? Then they pointed out a couple of stalls I couldn’t go to ‘cus they’re selling those shells. They called it something real funny… the pla-cey-bo effect. Do you know what that means, mister?”

Raoul was taken aback as he heard the young woman squeak in response to his presence. This young lady seemed extremely nervous. It was good to get information out of her. Raoul felt a little bit of remorse for using her as a piece of information but pushed past those feelings of guilt in favor of completing this mission especially since he needed that money back. She looked honest enough, young and sincere; she hadn’t shown any purposeful scamming, just street magic, so Raoul trusted her completely.



Raoul returned Ceres’s short bow with one of his as he said, “Nice to meet you miss My name’s Amenos Ralok, Second Son of the Ralok Noble Family, I ask for the conch shells because I’m looking for anything I can use to help cure my mother’s magical curse”.



His ears perked up at Ceres’s mention of her master and their knowledge of the shells being a scam.



“Hm, that couldn’t hurt to check, perhaps get some insight on how they knew that”, he thinks.


Raoul politely bows at Ceres as she hands him a cup of sake, “Thank you, young lady, here you go”, and hands her some solars as compensation.



As he sips his tea he says, “Huh they’re not real, darn I was hoping to talk to the person who made them buy a lot in bulk. Do you mind pointing me to some vendors of it or even the maker of them. It may be a scam but I just have to try anything for the sake of my mother”.

Ceres Celestia nodded, taking the name at face value - she had no reason to believe he’d lie to her. Honesty and innocence and the naïveté of youth would make her quite easy to get information out of… but the question then became, what did she know? And who was her master?

This game of cat and mouse between scammer and detective was lost on the poor young mage. All she cared about was the fact that Master Ralok was suffering, and his mom was in danger! She didn’t know what she’d do if her mom was sick like that. She’d lost her father to illness when she was an infant - though Ceres could not remember him, she knew the pain that still clung to her mother like an old blanket. Gosh…

“I’m not sure if the magic shells would help, Mister.” Ceres admitted slowly. “My Master said that they don’t really have any magical power in them… they’re just shells painted with fake runes and imbued with a potion on the inside to make them near-indistinguishable from real magical items to magic users. That’s the trick. So I’m not supposed to go anywhere near them.”

Hmm. An interesting assertion… but that only brought up more questions. How did Ceres Celestia’s master know enough about the enchantment to warn her away from it? Another question to add to the pile, but one thing was for certain; amongst this complicated web of lies, deceit, and scams that Raoul was attempting to untangle, he’d run right into a key player in it. Whether she was cognizant of that fact or not.

“Oh! You don’t need to pay me back… thank you.” She accepted the repayment gracefully, bowing her head.

Well, if Master Ralok wanted the shells, she guessed it couldn’t hurt to help him! Especially for his mother. Who knew? Maybe they would find a miracle here.

Ceres Celestia hopped off the bench, brushing herself off. “Alright… I can show you what I know, but don’t be sad if they’re fake, okay?” She said before setting off through the crowd, skipping towards the market stalls at a slow enough pace for Raoul to follow.

…

On the other side of the square, a lavender-skinned fellblood was enjoying a cup of tea. Though their appearance was bright enough to stand out in a crowd, their nonchalance and ease with which they enjoyed their snack marked them as little more than a regular festival goer. And yet, as Ceres Celestia left with the tall man in tow, they put their ceramic cup down with narrowed eyes.

Who was that man? What was he after? Hmm. This didn’t bode well.

They raised the sleeve of their yukata, a little winged kitten poking its head out of the fabric. The fellblood ran a clawed finger over the scruff of her head. “Go keep an eye on that, won’t you?”

The kitten let out a little mew and took to the skies on gossamer, insectoid wings. The fellblood hummed, and returned to their tea.

“Whoever is this young lady’s master I would love to meet them. They have to be some sort of kind-hearted wise mage to have taught such a sincere and skillful apprentice since as Ceres’s based on her personality”, he thinks to himself.



Raoul hammers in the theatrics as he responds to Ceres, “Oh I know, I-I just want to be sure I want to leave no stone unturned. I’ve already been everywhere looking for anything to help me from clerics, shady magic doctors, and even traveling by vendors selling their wares. Nothing has worked yet and it’s looking like my mother needs something, anything soon or she’ll perish after fighting her illness for a while. I don’t mind if they can’t work at all. I just want anything to help her or even just soothe her pain at this point. Heck, maybe even one of those shells would work as a nice gift for her at least".


Raoul’s expression sharpens a bit before returning to his frantic and pleading one as he thinks, “Another mention of that master at first being knowledgeable about the shells didn’t give me any red flags but Ceres knowing in-depth information on how they work lets me know what I need. Their master whoever that is, is involved in this matter expressly whether it is as a small cog or even the source of the problem themselves. Raoul would have to figure that out soon".


Raoul then walks behind Ceres looking worried and lost on purpose to drive off any suspicions from him from the nearby vendors.

Truly, Raoul did not need to bother with the waterworks; he’d already sold his sob story to Ceres Celestia. But hearing his desperation seemed to tug at her heartstrings, like a maestro plucking expertly at the strings of his violin. Ceres would do anything to help the poor, unfortunate man. She paused, turning around to grab ‘Ralok’s’ hand, patting it with her own small one. She was rather miniscule for an elf, but her smile was as bright as the sun and warm as the earth that she channeled through her.

“Don’t worry, Mister Ralok. We’ll go see if these shells will help any, okay? And if not, then I can always try to help you find a healer for your mama, okay? There’s all sortsa people in this world, and my master is a powerful healer in addition to their regular magic. Maybe they could help you.”

Ceres’s master was as much a healer as Raoul’s mother was sick, but that was neither here nor there.

She then set off and started skipping through the streets, excited at the prospect of getting to help someone. But as Raoul set off after her, his suspicions mounting about her master, there was a… sort of buzzing in the air, around his ears. One might have mistaken it for the casual buzzing of the crowd, or the sizzling sound of fried food - but in an instant, it disappeared. Strange. Ambient noises didn’t usually create that kind of effect.

Closer, further away, closer….

Just as he might have figured it out, BAM! Something small and angry attached itself to his face, scrabbling at his skin with little claws and threatening to tear his eyes out with little paws! Quick! If Raoul wanted to keep up with Ceres Celestia, he had to get rid of this threat as soon as possible!

Raoul was taken aback as Ceres grabbed his hand; he was already kind of on edge with everything going on but returned Ceres’s smile with a small one of his own.



He was completely engulfed with guilt and self-irritation as Ceres proclaimed to help him he responded, “Why thank you ever so much Lady Ceres you are in fact kind to me. I don’t know of any healers in my area since I and my mother live in a small noble estate on the outskirts of Moonglade. I’ve tried to hire some healers but they haven't even looked at me after I told them my story. Even with all the connections and wealth I’ve amassed, it’s still not enough to find anything yet but your proclamation gives me so much hope”.



“Gods be damned, I am the absolute worst human being in the history of Charon for lying to this precious child. I’m a sorry excuse for a detective if I have to lower myself to lying to an innocent girl to get any leads”, he screamed in his head feeling so embarrassed and self-loathing at the moment.



Javal walked behind Ceres trying to keep up with the youngster’s quick pace and his face was suddenly attacked by something small and angry.



“Oh drats bloody murder what's on my face? Little fellow please get off me I’m in the middle of something right now”, he says lifting the small animal from his nose and holding it in his hands.

Ceres Celestia was, fortunately, oblivious to Raoul’s inner turmoil. It was a necessary evil to lie to the young mage, a single small evil to do a lot of good for the people of the Crescent Isles, whose money was being siphoned by an uncaring, unknown criminal. That didn’t mean it didn’t burn.

He didn’t have the chance to ruminate on it for long before the creature pounced on him.

Raoul, shrewd as he was, did not remain fooled for long - he plucked the tiny creature from his face, clutching the ball of fur in his hands, only to spot… a cat? Yes, that was a tiny kitten, somehow, one with little gossamer wings and an abnormally fluffy tail that bristled as it scrabbled at Raoul’s hands with tiny paws, writhing and struggling in Raoul’s grip. The longer he stared at it, though, the more he would realize that this was not a mere cat at all, but a feline insectoid creature, a faunus native to Moonglade.

But what was a Flitten doing around here? And why was it attacking him out of the blue?

A momentary distraction, but Raoul had dealt with the crisis fast enough that he’d not lost sight of Ceres Celestia. In fact, there she was, conversing with a little kid selling trinkets at a corner, little shiny things laid out on a blanket. And his persistence had not gone to waste! For laid out on the blanket, nestled in a small pile, was a handful of multicolored, sparkling conch shells!

Raoul’s face is filled with a look of mild amusement and confusion.

"Is this a cat? Or some sort of bug? Is this a catbug?”, he thought as he kept a closer look at it.



“Wait, I think I’ve seen one of these little marvels before or at least heard of them aren't you some sort of pollinator fellow called the flittens? From the crescent Isles? What are you doing here? Did we mean festival people take your home? Well, I’m sorry little fella. Let me let you go so you can return to your friends. It’s not a good thing to attack people alright buddy now go on go to your momma, papa, or whatever the term is for legal guardian of a catbee".


He lets the little creature go as he kneels on the floor and plops it on the ground before standing back up and jogging where he saw Ceres. He walked slowly as he approached the stall and his eyes glimmered with determination for a second as he realized he was within the case’s breakthrough right here and now.



He focuses his energy on returning to the mild-mannered and bumbling desperate noble act he was doing around Ceres and stands behind her with a nervous smile, “Hello there”.

The flitten made a low sound, somewhere between a buzz and a growl, in irritation as Raoul let it go. Its mission, failed. Alas, it was far too tiny to divert the detective from his course, and now Raoul had a direct line to someone selling the shells. It slunk away, not given a second thought by the dhampir gumshoe. Perhaps Raoul should have questioned where the creature came from, and why it attacked him out of the blue. Because it was not traveling off to find its parent, but to find the very fellblood that had released it to keep an eye on the situation.

It found its master where it had left them, enjoying a nice drink and a meal with utter nonchalance. The lavender, elaborately dressed figure perked up at the sight of their precious animal, holding their hand out for the flitten to perch. The creature curled up on their open palm, almost appearing dejected as it curled up.

The fellblood ran a finger along its fluff.

“You could not stop him, huh? Do not lose heart. This is not the first time I’ve played this game in the Crescent Isles, and it will not be the last.” Their lips curled into a sneer that could only be described as sinister. Yes, this was certainly not their first time running a circus. They stood, tucking the flitten in their pocket before plucking a few solars from a bag; deposited on the table, for the tea. Even the most exploitative criminals knew when to pay for quality. And it had been quite the nice evening before this goody-two-shoes started poking his nose around their business. He needed to be taught a lesson.

He fancied himself a detective? He thought he was unraveling the strands of the mystery, but that was only what he could see. He’d soon learn that he had already walked straight into the Weaver’s trap.

They picked up a silk brocade that they had draped over the back of the chair, shrugging it over their shoulders. It was time to get to work.

Meanwhile, Raoul had resumed his act, approaching the two kids excitedly conversing with one another. The child across from Ceres Celestia, interestingly enough, was a miniscule dracoling, with bright red scales and a wide smile on his face. Another child Raoul would have to con if he wanted information about these shells. Did that make him any better than the people he was doing his damnedest to take down? Philosophical questions to shelve for later. For now, he had information to gather.

The dracoling clapped his hands together, tail swishing behind him. “Yes, hello, hello! I am Bubbles! You are looking for shells! Bubbles sells! He did not gather, but they are so pretty and so fun!”

Raoul’s inner thoughts roared once again as he heard the young dracoling’s words, “What are we doing? Is this all really worth it just to bring this fellow to justice? I mean I am fooling two innocent children that most likely have no idea what they’ve been brought into”.



Before his face shifted into one of true contentment as he thought, “NO, what I’m doing is right, whoever these poor kids are working for has fooled them, I must bring them to justice so they won’t take these kids under their evil eye”.



He shifts his focus back to the conversation as he realizes he left the fellow hanging, “Oh my apologies I’ve been a bit lost and in my mind because of recent familial circumstances. Nice to meet you Bubbles, may I buy one of these shells of yours by chance? I’m looking for any cure or any lead on something that could help me. My mother’s dying and there seems to be no normal cure for her so I’ve had to turn to the arcane arts and magical items for the hope that I can stop her illness from spreading and killing her. I’ve heard of these shell’s power and am interested in paying you whatever fine amount you would like for one”.

“Yay, yay, yay, customers, customers!” Bubbles tapped his claws together, face slight with what could only be described as childish glee. “I’m selling my shinies to help my master!”

Before Raoul could ask who Bubbles’s elusive master was, Ceres turned to Raoul with a quick explanation. “Bubbles and I work for the same mage.”

Two students under the same tutelage. One who had been warned the shells were a scam, and another selling them. But what in the world was going on? Ceres Celestia seemed just as confused at the undercover detective. “Bubbles, where did you get those?”

“I found them on the beach!” Bubbles explained. “So shiny! So pretty! So ahhhhh!”

“Master said those shells were a scam.” Ceres bit her lip uncertainly, gaze flitting between her fellow student and the man she had promised to help. The young mage was between a rock and a hard place, and she didn’t know which was going to win. “But Mister Ralok here needs something to help his mom. Do you mind if he looks at one of your shells? Maybe if he sees they don’t really have any magical power he won’t want to buy one.”

If it was possible for a little dragon to look upset, then that was exactly the expression affixed on Bubbles’s face now. His dark eyes looked puddly with tears as he held up one of the shells. “But look at this shiny! It’s so pretty it’s gots ta be magic.” He held one up in his little clawed hands for Raoul to examine. “But if it’s not magic, I’m sorry Mister! I can tell you where I found it so you can go see if you can find one for yourself! Maybe the beach has other magic shinies for you to help your mama!”

Raoul smiled, “These kids were truly innocent, there was no way in hell that these two were part of whatever scheme was going on here with the conch shells. With Bubble’s small comment about selling shells for his master, Ceres mentioning she worked for the same one, and Bubble’s mention of finding them on the beach. It all made sense whoever their master was, they were the culprit and mastermind of the whole operation”.



His slight smile turned into a momentary scowl as he continued being deep in thought, “How dare they? They’ve scammed thousands of soldiers out of innocent chumps and now they’ve got innocent kids roped into this. No this wouldn’t stand, not by me at least”, he balled his hand into a fist in anger as he thought.



He quickly straightened himself out of his thoughts to carry on and said, “Sorry about spacing out again kiddos, I’m still grieving about this whole situation”.



“I’ll have to take a look at the crime scene and source of all this mess to gather evidence about this case”, he thought before saying, “Actually I’d like to visit that place where you find them if possible if anything if it turns out to be a fake then at least I’ll have some pretty shells and a nice view”.


After receiving the directions the dhampir waved the two kiddos off saying, “Thank you two for your help I’ll head there on my own I need some alone time to gather my thoughts for a bit”, before walking towards the beach fists clenched in fists.

Though Raoul had no way of knowing it - and the kids, no way of possibly confirming what he was thinking - he’d hit the nail on the head. A piece of the puzzle that started slotting everything he’d seen thus far together. Both students worked for the same master, one warned away from the shells, while the other peddled them, cheap trinkets dressed up like a king’s heirloom. But why? The contradictory behavior seemed an odd thing for a charlatan - though there were a myriad of reasons a criminal might want to keep a “student” of theirs in the dark. Perhaps to throw off a bloodhound as shrewd as Raoul O. Ardelean. Perhaps to prevent even Ceres Celestia herself from learning of their deceit, while maximizing the profits. Either way, it took a lot of gumption and little moral regard for someone to set up a scam ring such as this.

And Raoul was determined to unmask the devil behind it all.

Ceres Celestia and Bubbles shared a confused look as the man suddenly righted himself with renewed vigor, speaking about gathering his thoughts before making his way off to the very beach where Bubbles had claimed to find these shells. Perhaps where he might even finally catch sight of this elusive scammer. Ceres Celestia waved farewell to him, still none the wiser.

“Bye-Bye, Master Ralok. I hope you find the answers you’re looking for.”

Oh, and he would. Though perhaps not what he expected. Perhaps more glitter-stained and grandiose than he’d ever imagined a master criminal, but he would find his answers. He would have the pot at the end of his rainbow and deliver righteous Justice for all whom had been conned out of their money by this dastardly fiend.

---

Morrigan Moonweaver stifled a yawn, twirling a dainty, multicolored parasol in their hands while they traipsed the beach. Their coin pouch jingled wherever they moved, laden with solars from a hard day’s work. It was not easy to set up an elaborate scheme such as this! Bribing a few select Crescent Islander guards to sell without a permit, collecting enough bunk shells and giving them the Moonweaver Touch - an alchemy bath and a lot of sparkle and shine - and ensuring that they had enough shills around town to sell enough to make a profit? Yes, they’d been quite exhausted setting everything up. They quite deserved a break, and a chance to spend some of the money they’d thrifted from the pockets of naive festival goers.

Well. There would be plenty of chance for that later… after this little pest problem was taken care of.

The thorn in Morrigan’s side, the man who was not who he claimed he was. At first, the fellblood had been a touch concerned when they noticed the man sticking around Ceres Celestia, but his countenance seemed distraught enough - just another sucker whose coin would make quite the welcome addition to Morrigan’s coffers. But then they found Mariposa wandering the streets and found quite the contradictory tale. A puddly sob story, some clever excuses, and the shine of cold hard cash was enough to blind anyone’s eye no matter how keen - of course it was easy to think those things benign. Morrigan had been confronted by enough do-gooders and guards in the day to know when to be wary. And their senses were on high alert.

The fellblood twirled a coin along their knuckles with the ease of someone who’d handled their fair share of money, whistling to themselves. Hmm. How best to deal with the situation? Given how the man had shilled out money to Mariposa like it was nothing, Morrigan could hazard a bribe wouldn’t work. Perhaps a more direct message. They didn’t like getting their hands dirty… perhaps if they could just spook him a little.

They continued their stroll along the beach, pondering how to best deal with the situation, a bag of solars hanging from the left side of their sash and a couple of shells hanging from the right the only clue as to their identity.

Raoul headed towards the beach as Bubbles had directed with his fists clenched and gaze turned stern, determined to find this so-called mastermind. He at least wanted to gather evidence of these so-called magical shells to prove that these people were just being fooled. Raoul reached the beach and quickly dropped down to pick up a handful of shells exactly like the ones that Bubbles was selling and that had been the entire point of his investigation. He placed all but one into his pockets before holding the one up and looking over it.



“Huh, these shells have no magical energy or any unique property to them, I can see them coming in from the ocean’s tide. I think this is enough evidence to provide the Crescent Isles that their people have been taken advantage of”, he thinks before placing the shell away into this pocket with the rest of them.



As he finished placing them into his pocket he looked around trying to spot any more clues to tie into what was going on, he still had left to find the true mastermind behind the whole operation, Bubbles, and Ceres’s master. He began to lower his head in acceptance that he couldn't find them before spotting a purple fellblood figure in the nearby distance.



He initially thought nothing of it as he started to walk over to them but soon his eyes widened in realization as he saw some shells and a bag of solars hanging from their being. They had to be the ringleader he thought as he increased his pace, “If I’m wrong on this feeling then my career be damned” before coming face to face with Morrigan.



He raised his hand and pointed at the shells at their side, “Hey, are you the one selling these fake shells to people, swindling those poor kids into this whole scheme?”.

The beach was so busy that Morrigan did not initially notice the out of place man investigating the shells along the sand washed up on the shore. In fact, they were so wrapped up in their own thoughts that they did not notice the man’s approach at all. If Raoul had been any more shrewd or dishonest than he was, he would have had ample opportunity to act on his hunch and take the lavender fellblood out once and for all. And yet, he approached with possibly the most blunt and strange introduction Morrigan had ever received in their life.

Morrigan whirled around, staring at the man. He was taller than the fellblood, with pale skin and a sharp gaze in his eye. The fact that he’d instantly clocked Morrigan from only a few details was… astounding, to be frank. Morrigan’s tail swished behind them, deep in thought as they sized the man up, before their lips broke out into a saccharine-sweet grin.

The fact that the man has asked it as a question rather than a statement likely meant he didn’t know for certain whom he was dealing with, and was acting on a hunch. Morrigan still had a chance to dissuade him, change his mind. With a charming smile and a propensity for flattery that only a sleazy criminal could manage, Morrigan pressed a hand to their cheek in feigned surprise.

“Scheme? Why, good sir, you must have the wrong person. There’s no scheme to be had here. I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about… I’ve been spending my morning enjoying the festival and I’ve certainly not seen any kids. Pray tell, enlighten me as to what you’re speaking of?”