Chapter Text
Everyone gathered and settled in the dining room. Fabian sat behind the table and facing the wall, taking up enough space for at least two people. Kristen sat on the corner of the table and Fig was on the floor leaning on Gorgug's leg. Adaine sat on the end, arms crossed and a foot braced on the seat of her chair. Riz leaned against the wall in front of them all and braced a foot behind himself. He went down his list, tapping his pencil as he thought.
"So, Fabian and Gorgug aren't up to speed with the rage god info, and I think Fig has some new info about her curse. Kristen did a ritual for Cassandra. I haven't made any major progress on the Rat Grinders, but there's a few developments...sounds like everyone knows about them, though. Plan to find Lucy, and talk about the portent Adaine had about her and the rage god. Cool. Anyone got anything else?"
"I think I need to head to Compass Points soon," Adaine said. Riz shot her a slightly raised eyebrow, but she looked serious. "I should start working on learning legend lore. I think that could help a lot with the information we get about Bakur and anything we find about the rage god and how it's connected to Cassandra."
Riz nodded, added it to the list, and tacked a paper up on the wall.
"Well, my update is good," Kristen said. "After the ritual with Cassandra, Fig came home and we talked a lot about the nature of mystery and making do with what you have. She actually wrote a song for Cassandra, and when she played it, Cassandra responded. She was able to grant me a spell!"
A collection of happy responses showered them, and Fig blushed and shrugged. Gorgug reached down to pat her head.
"Oh that's huge," Riz said. "That's such a relief, guys."
"It's a step in the right direction for sure," Kristen nodded.
"That's great news for you too, Fig!" Adaine said. "That means that your curse isn't as powerful or as comprehensive as it might be. You do break through occasionally even now, and once we figure it out, we're gonna smash this thing to pieces."
Fig nodded. "We should check out the Armor of Pride in the Bottomless Pit soon, since Gorthalax thinks the curse is from it."
"Legend lore will help with that, too," Adaine said. Riz made a note.
"So what's the deal with this rage god?" Fabian asked. "It's like, connected to Bakur and it's the thing that attacked Cassandra, right?"
"You know, I don't know if it actually attacked her? Or at least it might not have been trying to destroy her?" Kristen said. "When she saw the rage stars, she sounded like she knew them, before they died."
"And Bakur?"
"Lydia said that Bakur was like, an angel for this god back in the day, and he and some cultists were trying to resurrect them. She and her party stopped them, but she was the only survivor and since she's a barbarian, the only way she had to contain Bakur was with her rage."
"Damn," Fabian whispered, leaning forward to rest his mouth in his hands.
"Also, it seems like this god wasn't always about rage," Kristen said. "I need to do more research, but it sounds like Ruvina and Cassandra's followers were the ones fighting the rage god's followers after they...turned evil, I guess? They were part of the same pantheon or something? Which is weird, because Ruvina is a giant goddess, and Cassandra is part of Sol and Galicaea's pantheon, and there's some overlap there. Anyway, they knew each other, and were close or closely associated."
"And how did the rage god change?" Fig asked.
"Gods change when their followers change the way they worship them, so the people who followed this god started worshipping them differently,' Kristen explained. "At first they were more about justice it seems? Then vengeance, and finally just...rage."
"That's so sad," Fig said, hugging her knee and frowning at the floor.
"And then...you had a vision about it, Adaine?" Gorgug asked. She nodded.
"It was about Lucy Frostblade. The rage god...has her? Doesn't have her, but wants her, or almost has her. Something like that. It's confusing. They also have someone else Lucy knows. Then the morning I had that vision, the cleric professor went missing, right after she went to investigate about Lucy changing her god. We haven't confirmed that she was going to change to this rage god, and we haven't confirmed that the professor is dead, but it seems likely."
"Aw fuck," Gorgug groaned, leaning forward and resting on his fists.
"And that's what we need to check out tonight," Riz sighed. "I have a general area of Lucy's last known location, which is where Yolanda Badgood was headed. I think we gotta try to find them...probably their bodies."
"Aw fuck," Gorgug groaned again.
Fig reached up and patted his knee. "Also, still no progress on his MCAT," she offered. Gorgug groaned a third time.
Riz nodded and made a note.
"Kristen and I wanna talk to you about some presidential campaign ideas, Fabian, but that can wait," he said next. "And finally we've got the fucking Rat Grinders, but I think we might find something out about them if we manage to find Lucy tonight."
"So, when are we heading out?" Fabian asked.
"I think we should head out soon," Riz shrugged. He dug out his file on Lucy and spread out a large paper map onto the table. He pointed to the west side of the lake. "This area is where she was last seen, and where Yolanda headed. Lucy could be anywhere around here, or not, but we'll probably find Yolanda somewhere between here and the main campus." He circled the area. "People have been scrying and searching for Lucy for months, with no results, so something is shielding her, if she's here."
"I worked on it yesterday, and I think I've got speak with animals down," Adaine said. "That may help us, but then again, the Rat Grinders have a ranger and I'm sure there have been druids in the search parties."
"It's a good idea," Fig said. "You never know." Adaine shrugged.
"So it's about an hour till sunset," Riz said, checking his watch. "With all of us, that's probably a half hour walk in the dark, unless we boost it. That won't work well for Kristen, though." He looked around. "What do we think?"
"Give me fifteen or so to commune with Cassandra first, and we can head out?" Kristen suggested.
They all nodded agreement. Plans made, they broke to ready themselves.
Riz dug out some insulating layers and ducked into a bathroom to change, then sat on the living room couch to put on boots. Adaine came over to sit next to him and he glanced up with a smile.
"Layering up?" she asked.
"Yeah, a winter coat isn't really compatible with how I do things." He finished off the knot on his right boot and moved to his left.
"You know, I was thinking," she said, quietly, "it actually might be a good idea for me to learn stealth skills."
He looked over in surprise, but then considered, nodding as he laced up his boot. "Yeah," he said. "if you can get into or out of range undetected without using a spell, that's a pretty big advantage."
"That's what I was thinking," she said, "and getting away more easily if I run out of spells."
"Yeah, it comes in handy. Not sure how we'll fit it into our schedules," he sighed, "but yeah, I'd love to show you."
"Sounds great," she said. "In exchange, I can help with that enchantment research you were doing, if you want."
Riz made sure his pants were firmly tucked into his boots and smiled at her crookedly.
"It's a date," he said, blushing softly.
Adaine smiled back. He scanned over her, noting her own warmer layers and well worn leather boots. He nudged her closer foot with his toe, and she looked down in surprise.
"Your feet are the most important," he said. "The way you carry your body is important, in general, but it all starts at the feet. You need footwear you're comfortable in, that you know well, and that are suited to the environment."
She looked up at his explanation, then back down to her boots, moving her feet experimentally. He smiled and nodded encouragingly.
"Yeah, check for wear and discomfort. Your body's your first piece of gear, and inversely, your gear needs to become part of your body." He bounced up, gesturing up and down at himself. Adaine glanced up with wider eyes and a dusting of pink on her cheeks. Riz rolled his eyes.
"That's the starting point, anyway," he shrugged, turning to grab his gloves and old wool cap.
"Sounds like it involves a lot of training and control," she said with a teasing note in her voice. She trailed her fingers over his shoulders as she passed him.
"You're a wizard," he said, following her while shoving his hair under his cap. "That can't be unfamiliar."
She looked down with a sly smile. "Mental and physical discipline are different."
Fabian entered the dining room from the other direction and followed them through the kitchen out to the conservatory, where Gorgug was adjusting his new gadget onto his goggles. Riz smiled and shook his head, messaging her as he slipped on his fingerless gloves.
Head in the game, Adaine, he said, glancing up at her. The sooner we get our work done…
She blushed and smirked. His chest filled with tight joy to be following an exciting lead, to be working with her, to be surrounded by friends. Guilt followed the knowledge that the investigation he found so absorbing was one into the probable deaths of at least two people at the hands of a cult. He sighed.
"You're helping people, and you're good at it," Adaine said, squeezing his shoulder. "There's no shame in enjoying being good at your work."
"Detecting my thoughts?" he teased, nudging her so she knew he wasn't serious.
"No," she shook her head, resting her arm across his shoulders. "I just know you." He sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, you do," he agreed.
"Riz in one of his signature tailspins?" Gorgug asked without looking up from his work.
"Listen," Riz laughed. "Shut up." He dropped into a patio chair and Adaine leaned on the back of it.
"I thought you lost that hat in Sylvaire," Fabian said.
He reached up and tugged it down tighter onto his head. "I think I did lose one, but I have a couple. They're wool, and it's cold."
Fabian sighed and shook his head at him. "The Ball, you have the fashion sense of a sixty year old man."
"I'm not here for your aesthetic enjoyment, Fabian," he said, crossing his legs over the arm of the chair.
Adaine reached down and scratched gently at the top of his cap. "Don't listen to him, Riz. You're adorable."
He smirked, crossing his arms and sitting up straighter. "You hear that? I have it on good authority that I'm adorable, so there."
"Oh, so you're here for her aesthetic enjoyment, then?" Fabian laughed.
"Adaine clearly appreciates me," he said.
"What's Adaine appreciate?" Fig asked as she and Kristen came out the door. Kristen looked subdued, but Fig's arm squeezed reassuringly around her shoulders.
"How cute I am," Riz preened, grinning. He stuck his tongue out at Fabian, who rolled his eyes.
Kristen broke into a smile and rubbed his cap hard down onto his hair. "That's fair," she said, "we know how much Adaine likes her little guys."
"Gonna carry Riz in your backpack like Boggy?" Gorgug asked, adjusting his goggles with a smirk.
Riz laughed and hopped up, fluffing his hair and readjusting his hat. "I think the scale is a bit off for that," he said. He cast a quick glance at her, but Adaine was just grinning and shaking her head.
"I could probably carry you on my back," she laughed, heading down the steps into the back yard. They filed out messily after her.
"But poor Boggy," Riz said. "He'd get squashed."
"You could wear the backpack." Adaine shrugged.
"Wait, guys, I have a beautiful idea," Fig said, dashing out in front of them and walking backwards while she talked. "Gorgug, Adaine on your back. Adaine, Riz on your back. Riz, wearing Boggy's bag. All of you: riding on the Hangman."
"I'm down to try," Riz laughed. "As long as someone's ready to revive me, anyway. That's never gonna end well."
"It's a fun mental image," Adaine agreed, "but I don't particularly want to be part of a death sandwich."
"Maybe leave out the Hangman," Gorgug said. "Then it's more of, uh...an uncomfortable tower, maybe?"
"Still doesn't really appeal," Adaine laughed. "No idea why that could be."
"She just doesn't appreciate my vision," Fig sighed glumly.
Kristen chuckled and patted her back, and the group set off through the darkening woods, wreathed in the sound of happy chattering.
The trip back was much more somber.
"You sure you're good to call it in, Fig?" Fabian asked.
"Yeah," she sighed. "I'll use the phone at the diner and disguise my voice."
"Ok. I'll go with you, if you want," Fabian offered, putting his arm over her shoulder. She nodded.
"I'm glad you could shield them," Adaine said to Kristen, who was getting a piggyback ride from Gorgug. She reached up and patted her leg. "Good job Saint Kristen."
Kristen made a face, but nodded. Gorgug sighed. Riz glanced up.
"Not the best end to a birthday, huh?" Gorgug asked him.
"Yeah, we were pretty sure what we were going to find, but still." Riz shrugged. "At least we have a little bit more information. And maybe once they're retrieved someone can figure out how to remove those runes."
"We might need to figure out who put them there before that can happen," Kristen said. "Gods are territorial, dead or not, and their bodies have that god's symbol."
"I bet the Rat Grinders have some information about that," Riz spat.
"I can't believe Candyfucker Cuntface has the nerve to complain about not having the same privileges as our party when all they've been doing is killing rats in the woods behind the school," Adaine said, disgusted. Riz reached over and held his hand out in invitation. She glanced down, then took it with a small squeeze.
A few minutes later, they passed out of the woods proper and into the cemetery. Kristen squinted over Gorgug's shoulder and gave him a pat. "There's enough light that I got it from here, dude. Thanks for the lift."
"Yeah, no problem." He half knelt and she slipped down. "When I get a little more experienced, I should be able to make you some darkvision goggles."
"Oh that would be great," Kristen said. "It sucks being the only one who can't see at night." Riz hung back a bit and squeezed Adaine's hand before he let go. She turned to him curiously.
"I'll catch up with you guys," he said, raising his voice so it carried ahead. "I'm gonna visit my dad for a bit." Gorgug nodded and in the distance, Fabian flashed a thumbs up.
"Oh, alright," Kristen said, quietly. "See you back at the manor." Adaine stayed behind as they walked off.
"Um," she hesitated, "would you like company, or would you prefer to be alone?" He shrugged, scuffing his boot on the grass.
"You don't have to stay on my account, but if you want to come, you'd be welcome."
"Okay," she said, nodding. "I don't want to intrude, but I don't want you to be alone out here at night." He smiled up at her.
"That feels like love," he whispered. She blushed and wordlessly took his hand.
He led the way, his feet moving along the familiar route on their own. The heartache set in as he got closer. The grief was encompassing. Still the same size, just stretched out over the years. The stab of anger was newer than the grief, but also slowly dulling as it wore against time. Then, there he was.
Riz took a deep breath, and Adaine squeezed his hand tightly.
"Thanks," he said, leaning against her for a second.
He let go and knelt, brushing some leaves off the headstone. He reached out to trace his dad's name, the same ritual he always did. Almost...his throat ached. Three years, in truth, but truth wasn't always reality. Eight years. Nearly as many without him, now, as he'd ever had. Riz pressed his hand against the stone and closed his eyes. Powerful forces, powerful friends, and his own reckless desperation had all given him a little more. Stolen time. Always precious. Each moment glowing, special, and fleeting. No mornings putting away groceries and singing out of tune, no embarrassing moments narrowly avoided, no fierce hugs as he rushed out the door.
"Miss you, Dad," he whispered hoarsely. "It's pretty late for me to visit, I know. Don't worry, nothing's wrong...well, nothing more than usual," he sighed. "My friends and I were just out in the forest looking into something and I thought I'd stop on the way back to say hi. I haven't had time since I got home from our quest this summer."
Riz sat back on his heels. He looked up and saw Adaine finish casting, then she reached down toward an invisible summon and whispered commands. Moggy. He caught her eye and patted the ground next to him with a nervous smile. She silently knelt and took his hand.
"So, I know you said you can hear me sometimes," he said. "I hope this comes through."
The sun had fully set, and a chill wind creaked through the branches above. For a moment, though, he felt a trace of the same warm breeze he'd felt in a meadow of perpetual idyllic summer. He smiled and wiped his eyes.
"So, um, remember my tattoos? Turns out the Night Yorb was a real thing, as dumb as it sounds, and uh, well, basically, I kind of accidentally unleashed it on the world. It blotted out the sun, and then cultists started worshipping it, and it was a whole...thing. You might've heard about it; Kristen says Sol is probably pissed." He shrugged. "We spent all summer chasing it all over the Red Wastes. So that's um, that's where I've been. But my friends had my back and we got it. It's sealed on top of Gorgug's van now, and apparently it's...fine? I'm leaving the details to people who know what they're doing."
"Anyway, that was the summer. I remember you wanted to hear about, um, normal stuff, so...you know my birthday's next week. We had a party today, a joint one with my friend Gorgug. His birthday's a week or so after mine, and everyone's so busy this year...we just got together with everyone at Basrar's and hung out. Adaine's idea," he said, squeezing her hand nervously, "because she's working there and figured, y'know, two birds, one stone."
"Before that, Mom and I," his breath hitched and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat, "she worked late last night, so I got some groceries this morning. We made breakfast, and she was singing while she cooked, you know how she does, and tried to get me to sing along with her. I didn't, but it was nice to have some downtime to hang out. We haven't been able to do that for a long time. She got all mushy about how I'm growing up and griped at me for being as tall as you already," he chuckled wetly.
"Let's see, I'll try to remember more things about today. Adaine gave us these silly crowns with inside jokes on them. Fabian got me a whole pallet of bulk snacks. Should last for a while. Fig lit the candles and played Happy Birthday for us on her bass. Kristen found out about how my claws work, apparently for the first time?" He shook his head. "Then she started asking about goblin lesbians, and Mom almost choked on her drink." Adaine covered her laugh with her hand. "Fabian spun me over his head, and I talked him into trying it with Gorgug, who's a half orc, if you didn't remember. He didn't manage it, but did end up giving him a piggyback ride around the parking lot. Fig took so many pictures. Adaine called us idiots. She's probably right."
Riz laughed, shaking his head and rubbing his thumb over her fingers.
"It was a really good day," he sighed, sobering. "Um. This year…it's rough so far. It's really rough, on all of us. But we're in it together. We're making progress on...on the stuff we're working on, can't talk in case...you know how it is. But my friends are the best. We'll get through."
Cold wind blew leaves into shuffling drifts. In the distance, through the trees, a car drove past. For a second, Riz closed his eyes against the chill.
"When I was little," he said, glancing at Adaine and tilting his head toward the gravestone, "he'd hide these clues around the apartment for me, about like, what we were going to play when he came back from a trip, or what he wanted to get Mom for her birthday. In code, too, so she wouldn't have the surprise spoiled."
"And he—" the words caught in his throat and he screwed his eyes shut again. "I, I miss him," he said, blinking hard and letting tears run tracks down his face. He took a deep slow breath. "I really wish he was here."
Riz reached out to touch the stone once more. "Love you, Dad. I'll visit again as soon as I can, okay?"
Once again, he felt the faintest warmth on the cold winter breeze and the most ethereal scent of summer wildflowers. He wiped his face messily on his sleeve. "Yeah," he whispered.
Riz let go of her hand and rubbed his palms down his thighs as he took a slow steadying breath. He nodded and stood. Adaine stood as well, dusting her knees to give him a second to collect himself.
Impulsively, she reached out and touched the top of the gravestone. "We'll take care of him," she said, "as best we can. I promise."
She turned and met his eyes, unsurprised to be caught. He laced their fingers together and pressed the back of her hand to his mouth for a moment, quiet and still. She wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and held him until, a few minutes later, he sighed and looked up.
"Back to work?" he asked.
"Back to work," she shrugged, dismissing Moggy.
He nodded resolutely and turned back to the manor, keeping her hand tight in his.
"Thanks for staying with me," he said as they approached the back door.
"You're welcome."
"I really hope they'll be able to revive them," he sighed.
"Me too."
Riz let go of her hand and she braced herself for bright bustling energy as they entered the manor's kitchen. It actually wasn't as busy as expected. Kristen was at the table reading, and Gorgug sat with his head on his folded arms.
"Fabian and Fig back yet?" Riz asked, taking off his hat and gloves and unbuckling his sword belt.
"No, they decided to wait on takeout from the diner," Kristen said. "I told Fabian to order so we end up with more than cottage cheese a la mode."
"Thanks," Adaine sighed, sitting across from her. "What are you up to?"
"Looking up that symbol," she shrugged. "It looks like the rage stars, but confirmation would be nice. Nothing in my world religions reference, but I bet the history section at the library will have something."
"Maybe you should come to Compass Points with me," Adaine suggested. "I don't know how the history collection is, but it can't hurt to check."
Kristen nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow."
Gorgug piped up groggily. "I don't think I should stay the night, guys. I've still got three projects to finish this weekend, and I won't be much help with research or investigation."
Adaine rubbed his shoulder. "Fabian will probably give you a ride," she said. He nodded.
"Makes sense," Riz said, starting the kettle. "You're treading water. We've got this part. We'll call you in for breaking shit and fixing shit."
Gorgug laughed into the table and tiredly raised a hand. "That's me, atchyer service."
"I think Fig's right about Porter," Adaine said, getting up to grab herself a drink.
"What, that he's evil?" Riz asked, confused. He'd rinsed out Jawbone's french press and was shoveling heaping scoops of coffee into it.
She rolled her eyes. "No, that he's full of it. I think he's just bitter that Gorgug is a great artificer and a great barbarian."
"I'm getting a C in his class, so I'm not really a great barbarian by his standards."
"His standards are shit," Adaine declared. She leaned against the counter and drank her seltzer. "You made an axe that warps gravity and used it to beat the shit out of a corrupted god. He yells at teenagers and fills out a muscle tee well. You're not remotely in the same league."
"No pep talk like an Adaine pep talk," Kristen said. Riz laughed.
"Anyone who doesn't like Gorgug is bad," she shrugged. "It's not your fault he's a basic bitch."
"Thanks Adaine," he mumbled sleepily.
"You want in on this coffee, man?" Riz asked as he poured steaming water.
"Your coffee is worse than my mom's," he said, "and she uses it to clean corroded batteries."
"So, your usual? Quarter cup of brown sugar?"
"Please."
"The fuck," Kristen said, looking up from her notes. "I got heartburn just from hearing that."
Gorgug sat up and removed his goggles, rubbing his hands over his face. "Gnome coffee: black as night, sweet as death."
"Horrifying," Adaine said.
"This is judgment free coffee!" Riz insisted, climbing up to grab mugs from the cabinet. Kristen laughed.
"No way in hell am I trying that," Adaine said.
"Poor sportsmanship," Riz sighed, shaking his head.
"What have I missed?" Gorgug asked.
"Nothing important," Kristen said.
"Who wants greasy calories?!" Fig called from the entryway.
"Fig you are my best friend," Gorgug called back.
"Excuse me?" Riz asked, putting a mug in front of him.
"Riz you are my best friend," Gorgug said, picking the mug up in both hands and slurping contentedly.
Once everyone was settled back in the dining room, Riz gathered all their pinned notes about the Rat Grinders and started a new web. Fig grabbed a marker and tacked a note right in the middle under their party name that said Lame Ass Bitches. Riz underlined it twice. Adaine gave Fig a high five as she passed.
"Okay, so," Fabian said, gesturing, "the central question about the Rat Grinders seems to be: what the actual fuck is their problem?"
"You're not wrong," Riz said, "but I think we need to narrow that down."
"Are they targeting us?" Gorgug asked. "Mary Ann at me, Oisin at Adaine, Ruben at Fig, Kipperpuddle at Riz, Buddy at Kristen, Ivy at Fabian?"
"Kipperlilly is also targeting Kristen, though, and Ruben and Ivy aren't really focused on Fig and Fabian," Riz said. "Honestly, Fig, I think you're spending a lot more time on Ruben than he's worth."
"Well, he is headlining at FrostyFaire," Gorgug said. "We should make sure to snoop during the festival."
"What?" Fig said. "Your parents are hosting this festival and our band isn't even playing in it, and he's headlining?"
"Yeah," he shrugged. "Fig, we're definitely not prepared to put on a show next weekend."
"It's the principle!"
"You can't really have a music festival without a headliner, Fig."
"Anyway," Riz interjected. "We do have signs of magical interference and amplification in them: Lucy is trapped by the rage god's symbol and can currently only reincarnate under their influence, which she refuses to do." He tacked up a point. "Oisin has shown interest in Adaine that's crossed the line into creepy bullshit, and I got a weird vibe from him that makes me wonder about some sort of influence." He tacked up a point. "Kipperlilly is absolutely obsessed with becoming student body president, and hates me and Kristen for some reason." He tacked up a point.
"Ivy and Buddy just suck in general," Adaine pointed out. "Mary Ann seems fine though?"
"She's not." Gorgug scowled.
"You did say anyone who doesn't like Gorgug is bad," Riz pointed out.
"Does she not like him?" Adaine asked.
"I don't like her." Gorgug insisted.
"That's not really the same thing," Fig said. "Ivy did try to get us to take drugs at your party, though, Fabian."
Riz nodded, tacking up another point. "And then Grix cracked down on Monday afterwards. Maybe they're working with him."
"I don't know...but I don't like Ivy either," Fabian said. "I don't think anyone likes Buddy. But that's not a sign of being under the influence of a rage god."
Riz glanced out into the hall, then messaged Adaine. Jawbone around? he asked.
She extended her sight and looked around. "All clear," she said.
"I need to swipe her file from Jawbone," Riz said, quietly. "And the records for their party from the main office. I think that's next. I should also check and see if she's swiped ours, which she almost certainly has."
A few nods from around the table. Riz sighed, turning to lean on the table and study the wall.
"Is someone manipulating the Rat Grinders, or are they in charge of something? And what's their connection to the rage god?" he wondered, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.
"There's no way they're in charge," Adaine said. "But what does the person in charge want? And how could they be manipulating… Shit, it's right there."
Riz whipped around and stared at her.
"Lucy is choosing not to be resurrected," she said, meeting his eyes, "which means that she could be. If she allowed herself to be."
His eyes slowly widened as understanding dawned. "Fuck," he whispered. She frowned and nodded.
"Wait, I don't…" Fig trailed off, looking back and forth between them.
"Oh shit," Kristen gasped.
Riz turned to her, nodding. "Adaine's right, isn't she?" he asked.
"Fuck I think she is," Kristen said. She looked around at everyone, worry clear on her face. "Lucy and Yolanda aren't the only people who were killed, they're the only ones who haven't been resurrected. There are other people walking around in the thrall of the rage god already. That might be what's wrong with the Rat Grinders."
"Fucking hell," Gorgug moaned, dropping his face into his hands.
"Shit. How do we tell who's been sacrificed?" Fabian asked. "And who did it? And can we save them? Or are they just thralls forever?"
Riz nodded, quickly scratching out new notes and tacking them up.
"This has the potential to be so goddamn bad, you guys," he said, now moving things around without explaining his process. "The Rat Grinders could be in on it, or they could just be victims. We have no way of knowing if they're really part of the cult, but we have to treat them like threats. The one person we told who looked into this also got trapped into potential enthrallment to the rage god. Anyone who knows about this is in extreme danger, including us."
"Honestly that's just Tuesday," Fabian scoffed.
"This is serious," Riz whirled in a blur, slamming his hands down on the table and leaning forward. Fabian jumped back in surprise.
Riz closed his eyes and took a breath, then looked around with a stern expression. "We have to be careful," he said, quietly intense. "We don't know who they're targeting or why they're doing it, so we don't know who they could go after. If we get more of their attention? It might not be us, it might be our families."
"I think we do know part of the motive, though," Kristen said, rubbing her mouth as she stared at the table. "They want to resurrect the rage god."
Riz slapped himself in the forehead. "You're right. Of fucking course they do." He scribbled more notes and turned back to the wall to tack them up.
"And then what?" Gorgug asked.
"Nothing fucking good," Adaine said, "that's for sure."
Without looking away from his work, Riz snapped his fingers and pointed at her emphatically.
"Well, without followers, there's no power," Fabian said. "So how do we get everyone they sacrificed out of the rage god's thrall?" He turned to Kristen. "Do we need to fight the god? How do you kill a god that's already dead and is still…" he waved his hand at the evidence wall.
Kristen nodded, staring into space as she thought. It was Fig who piped up.
"What if...Kristen, you said the rage god wasn't always about rage, right?"
"Yeah, no, they weren't. Why?"
"Could we just...get rid of the rage? Make them...their old self?"
"Not if their followers aren't worshipping them like that, and if they're murdering people and resurrecting them just to get more followers, that sounds awfully ragey to me."
"Okay, but why do they want the god to stay a rage god?" Fig asked. "Is this just a classic villain taking over the world thing, or is there another element?"
Riz was nodding along to the conversation, writing down and tacking up each question and point as they made it.
"If they're trying to bring the god back, we need the information Lydia's bringing us before we can do anything substantial," Adaine said. "Bakur tried this already and failed. Presumably, the followers know about that attempt, and have learned from it. If they know about it and we don't, we're at a significant disadvantage. If we're lucky, they might not have much information and we'll have a real advantage. Either way, we need to level the playing field."
Riz nodded and hummed in response, tacking up a note with "BAKUR RESEARCH" circled and underlined. He connected it to one that said "Adaine: legend lore," and followed that with one that read "how to resurrect a god?" with a messy rage star symbol in the corner.
"Kristen and I are going to Compass Points tomorrow," Adaine said. "Until Lydia's back, I think we need to try to just...keep under the radar with this, so we don't draw more attention to ourselves." She looked over at Riz, who was scraping his hands through his hair as his gaze darted all over the wall.
"The news that their bodies were found is going to be a pretty big beacon for the followers," Fig pointed out.
Riz nodded and added a note about it.
"It sounds like that's...about all we can do from here tonight, then," Gorgug said. "I have to get home and do some work for a few hours before I can go to bed."
"Yeah, I think I'll head home too, after I drop him off," Fabian said. "Let me know if there's specific help you need with this, but otherwise I'm not the best at…" he shrugged and gestured vaguely at the evidence wall that Riz was now squatting in front of.
Kristen nodded. "Makes sense. You guys go home, get some sleep. We'll let Riz wind down and talk to you about it when we have more info."
"Cool," Fabian nodded. "The Ball!" he called, loud enough to actually startle him out of his focus. "Happy Birthday, and don't stay up all night spinning your wheels."
Riz waved. "Yeah, thanks! I won't," he said absently, turning back toward his work.
Adaine sighed. "I got him," she shrugged. "Kristen, why don't you tell Fabian about your crazy pbj campaign idea while they're getting ready to go?"
"Oh yeah, get this," Kristen started, following the boys out of the room.
Fig watched them leave, then watched Riz doing inexplicable things to the notes on the wall, then turned to Adaine with a sigh. "You know, this whole time we could have just been killing the same rats over and over instead."
Adaine laughed. "Boring," she said.
Fig smirked and nodded. "Yeah." She stood and looked back over at Riz, who was now standing a few feet back from the wall, standing eerily still while staring at it. "You sure you don't mind dealing with...this...alone?"
Adaine smirked and rolled her eyes, trying her damnedest not to blush. "I'm good. He'll run out of steam soon enough."
"Alright, well, I'm going to throw away all this takeout garbage and then I'm going to bed." Fig gave her a hug and a kiss on the head. "Night, hon."
"Good night."
Meeting's done, she messaged him. Riz shook himself and looked around as the last few minutes of the outside world caught up with his train of thought.
"There he is," Adaine said. She stood and started stacking up loose note cards on the table. Riz sighed and came over to stash things in his briefcase. "Keep working for a while if you're onto something," she said.
"No, I don't really think I am," he said, shaking his head. "Just spinning." He scrubbed a hand through his hair, still awkwardly flattened from wearing his hat. She crossed her arms and rested her hip on the table.
"You sure?" she asked, quietly sympathetic. He nodded. She cupped the back of his head and gently kissed his temple. "I'm going to help Fig clean up," she said. He gave a gentle sidelong smile and nodded again. She headed to the kitchen.
Fig was yawning as she came back in from taking out the garbage. Adaine started gathering dishes. Together they filled and started the dishwasher and cleaned Jawbone's coffee press for the morning. Riz came in just as they were finishing, without weapons or shoes.
"Oh, thanks, I came to clean up the coffee pot," he said.
"We gotcha, bud," Fig said, ruffling his hair as she passed. "I expected you to be at it for another hour at least."
"No, I'm...yeah, Adaine's right," he sighed, getting a glass of water. "Without the information from Lydia, there's not much else to be done yet."
"Makes sense. Night, guys."
They murmured their good nights to her, and then they were alone.
Riz put his glass on the counter and came over to her with a sigh. Adaine smiled and reached for him as he got closer, moving without conscious input. He leaned into her with a tired sound. She stroked her fingers gently along his scalp.
"That feels so good," he sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his cheek against her shirt. Adaine smiled with a surge of affection.
"If we could get just one day that wasn't so goddamn full of important shit," she lamented. He laughed, short and with a slightly desperate edge, and slid his arms around her waist.
"If we can't get that, ending them with you is nice," he said. "I wish I could—" he yawned hard, leaning forward and shivering. She smiled at him when he looked back up.
"Bed?" she asked, quietly. His eyes widened and he smiled, stretching up to give her a quick kiss.
"Yeah," he swallowed, stepping back and squeezing her hand. "Yeah, let's go."