Chapter 3 - Disappearances

Argo leisurely read the report in his hands.

The accomplice had not been as tight-lipped. 

With another new friend, Rodrick's collection had grown again, he looked up, making the mental note to have him cull it.

"What is it, Lord Loch?"

For a moment, he had forgotten that his thing existed, his latest problem, though not terribly pressing.

The Lady of March, who wasn't really the Lady of March.

With a plate of lobster and some Eastern cuisine called rice, she was eating the best of what Loch had to offer.

She might have been a ruinous beauty, if not for the treasonous scar on her face. It felt like a crime.

"... Word spreads quickly. The local lords are coming to meet with the Former Lady of March," He picked up his fork and knife, cutting himself off a piece of his steak, "What do you intend to do?"

Seafood wasn't precisely his taste. Far too gummy, and often time poorly cooked. A simpler dish was more to his taste.

She felt a little hurt, that he hadn't even bothered to give her a look, while she had put down her utensils to respond to him, as is proper manners.

"What do I…" Her words trailed off, she was reminded again of her purpose, and what his condition was for her to stay here, "...I want to live quietly. I'll abstain from meeting them."

"Wrong." Argo replied like a slap to the face and pressed his fork into his nicely cut piece of steak, ate it, going to cut another piece.

"Wrong?" She repeated him, with a dumb look on her face.

Was she supposed to go and make connections, when she was no higher peerage than a commoner, something that would come to light sooner rather than later? Would that not bring about greater problems?

"Wrong." Argo said again, after swallowing his piece of food, he leaned back slightly, let the steak sit, he leveled a look at her, his lips parting, "Meet them. Enchant them. If you stay hidden, all sorts of nuisance rumors will spread. If not, at least, you won't be as easy to toy with. Your status is as someone protected by my peerage. It may not be much, but your actions will reflect all of Loch, for the duration of your stay."

A reflection of all of Loch, picking ones own rumors before they could be picked for her.

She knew what she had to do... but it felt wrong.

She looked down at her food.

Like a cowards way out.

He raised a brow, her face was an open book, even a child could read it, but he had no time to continue indulging her, he had finished eating.

"Ah…" Her mouth opened while he reached for the wine glass.

He slightly turned to look at her, as he took off his bib, "Is there something else?"

"...No." 

He remained staring at her for a moment, before taking the wine from the glass, and carefully staining some parts of himself, which would be simple enough to clean, as well as the bib, "Good."

No servants were allowed to watch, while Nobles ate, nor listen to their chewing mouths, for it was ungraceful, and could not be shown as it would lower the prestige of the noble.

Tacky and tiresome as it was, he didn't mind, since it served him well.

He took the whole bottle, with the cork off, and held it laxidasally, before letting it fall and break.

She flinched at the belligerence.

He opened the door, reeking of wine.

Outside, the servants opened their eyes, to follow their lord, and thus couldn't help but notice the spilled wine and disaster scene inside, as well as Lady March's pale demeanor and half eaten food.

"Come here." He urged Stephan over, with a rancid breath and terrible look in his eye, to which Stephan came forward.

It wasn't normal for it to be so bad.

But since Nobles were coming, he wanted it to be the talk of the town.

Stephan caught the apologetic glance from his friend, and smiled like a fool.

A debaucherous pair of lovers, indeed.

Loch was quiet, for most of the year, with few things to interrupt the quiet of the tiny town, few things save for their lord, who seemed to have a problem all the time.

He looked down the hallway, at the person standing in front of his study.

"Put a tail on her," He spoke softly to Stephan, to those who couldn't hear, they would think him saying sweet nothings, "Eida is being suspicious. If anything happens, dispatch the Hounds."

Emilia looked straight at her lord, her eyes barely concealing a sharp disgust for his behavior and alcoholic tendencies.

Stephan went away, and the servants dispersed since they weren't allowed in this area by themselves.

Argo smiled at Emilia, his voice was slick, "Don't you have criminals to apprehend? Surely, you aren't so free to come here unannounced for a sneaky visit?"

The implication made her nose scrunch and her mouth taste vile with disgust at the mere thought of such a thing.

Argo didn't quite care about her reaction. He had seen it a thousand times, across a thousand different people.

He opened the door to the office, and her head recoiled back a little, at the smell that lingered on him.

"...My lord. There was a break-in last night. A woman is missing. Several witnesses say they heard running in the night, but nothing else. Several other towns are experiencing similar disappearances and we have reason to believe it's an organized crime ring. I am once again asking for permission to form a Task Force." She reached into her armor.

Quite the convenient space, that female armors had for hiding things. His sight didn't linger however.

She laid out several documents, which Argo only needed only a glance over, to know they were to some degree true.

Every corner of crime in Loch was monitored, except for the spontaneous ones, that couldn't be predicted, any form of organized movement, was either Sin, or it wasn't going to last for very long.

Luckily, he didn't need to give the documents more than a glance over, before leaning back in his chair and staring at her as he opened a bottle, "So? With what money? Should we take from the budget for the welfare of the citizens? Or raise that deplorable tax? What do you think?"

Her eyebrow twitched.

She held her hands together, gripping them together tightly.

He saw it from the corner of his vision but didn't mind it.

His character afforded him this level of incompetence and laid-back laziness, without suspicion.

Emilia couldn't help but feel frustrated with him, since his arrival, crime had hit and maintained such a minimal low, it was far beneath any other towns in the region, yet, his character was so deplorable, that she could hardly contain herself.

To give the devil it's due, was something that she refused to do even if it killed her.

But a Guard Commander had no place, instructing her Lord, only informing, never arguing.

"My Lord, the Bishop Mel is here."

Argo blankly looked at the door. He gripped the wine bottle a little tighter.

Another headache had come, he took a small sip of his bottle, knowing he'd have to be sober for this.

Unlike Emilia, who was Loch's Garrison Commander, from before he took over the reins, and had roots here, the Bishop had the backing of the church and was arguably, more influential than even him.

A Bishop with the right to take the seat of Pope, in a few decades, if her services were substantial.

"Come in then," His voice was somewhat belligerent, and Emillia contained herself from looking at him as if he was insane, "I can't turn away our beautiful bishop, after all."

The door opened, and Stephan glanced at Argo from behind the woman wearing a long white dress of sorts, cleric robes to be exact, and a simple staff.

Several figures in pearl white armor stood outside, bearing a sword at the hip, and spears in their hands.

He calmly surveyed her, his lips parting.

"The Jewel of Loch, it's an honor to see you," He poured a glass, feigning some sort of decorum, and set the bottle on the ground next to his chair, out of sight, he put his hands together with a big smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Emilia lowered her head, and stepped aside, to leave, since this was not a conversation she should be privy to.

Bishop Mel helped herself to a seat, crossing her legs, her soft lips moved, though that was the only softness to be found, her gaze like pointed daggers.

"Stay."

Emilia froze up.

Between Argo and Mel, there was not much to be said, as to who she should listen to, and Argo technically hadn't ordered her yet so… she stood aside, but in the room.

Argo felt slightly annoyed inside, she had done that in order to bar him from being able to bring up anything sensitive or give half replies.

It also, put him at ease, since that meant whatever was going to be talked about wouldn't be too problematic that others couldn't hear.

"I hear that there have been disappearances. Over two dozen in the last month. Across your leadership here in Loch, during my stay, nearly a thousand have vanished. This is correct, Emillia?" 

Emilia, who didn't know that the Bishop knew her name, nearly stumbled over her words, "Correct.."

"Good. I've also heard you wish to establish a Task Force. The church will be taking part in that. A disciple will be dispatched, alongside several Junior Priests to aid and monitor the investigation's progress."

Argo remained looking at her for a few seconds, quietly.

If the church wanted in, that meant they had taken some sort of loss.

Almost as though reading his mind, Bishop Mel turned to look at him, "One of ours has vanished. So I'm certain you understand our interest in this Task Force. We will front half the expenses. The other half, I am confident in leaving in your hands, Lord Loch."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Argo quietly went through the countless options and decisions that could be made here, an investigation would cripple Sins operations for a while, and they had two convoys on the way back still, "We will front the full cost, I will have posters set up, and send over all of our relevant information to the church at once. This is important to us, as well."

Naturally, he knew where all those disappeared were.

Well, not all, of course, no net was perfect.

But he had a very good idea.

However, the disappearance of a child of the church would need a thorough look-through.

Such a thing was not a light matter.

"I'm glad I can count on you," Bishop Mel gave him a quiet look, "But are you trying to embarrass the Church? We will provide half, don't pursue it anymore."

If the church was seen to be doing nothing and the case was solved, all of the credit would go to him, Argo, and none to the Church, who had dispatched only people and not funds.

It was unthinkable, but worth a try.

Emilia, though she didn't understand entirely what was going on, Argo had not touched or looked at his drink since the conversation started.

Bishop Mel looked back at her, "If ever you need new employment. Come to the Church. We will shelter you."

"That's cheating," Argo shook his head, and drank his wine, "Emillia, leave."

She hesitated.

Bishop Mel didn't look at her.

Which was her cue to go.

Once the door shut, the Bishop looked at her empty cup of wine, and a fledging power moved the wine bottle from his desk to her cup, for a pour, "Ever since you arrived here. Crime has dropped to the lowest in the South. That wouldn't happen to have anything to do with you, would it?"

Argo idly spun his wine in his cup, looking at the bear's head stuffed and hung over the door of his study.

It was a ferocious one, conquered on their trip here, a terrorizer of sorts, of the locals, since it had fed on human flesh several times, and grew to hunt people.

"The same could be said about you. Perhaps it's the blessings of God. No one is fool enough to stand before the throne of both mortal and divine." He took a sip.

But people were fools.

There were many, many fools.

Thousands, in fact.

Bishop Mel softly smiled, as she raised her glass, "How long do you intend to avoid it?"

Argo put down his glass, and looked at the bottle, wishing he had some sort of magic like she did to pull it back, "What was the name of the lost child?"

She looked at the bear's head, a vain piece, his cowardice which made him fall into league with a variety of debaucherousness and even had him removed from the line of succession, was legend at this point.

"Constance," Bishop Mel leaned on the arm of the couch, looking at him with eyes that might enchant a fool, but put fear into the thinking man, "She is a righteous girl. No doubt she was involved in something beyond her means, for that righteousness. Don't you know her?"

He could tell she was sounding him out.

And he did have the names and data of everyone in Loch, including those in the Church, but, Constance was not a name Sin had come across for taking.

"Naturally. An ace in blessings. Curing a plagued man in Saints Road, she was dispatched here. I signed her immigration papers." He turned his head, there was a slight scent in the room, like lavender flowers.

Rodrick was cleaning down there.

A clean freak, he had his friends and him clean up everything every day or else the smell would kill.

Literally.

"If she isn't found, it could hurt all of Loch."

If she isn't found, it could smear her image as Bishop, and hurt her chances at succession into Pope.

A clearcut threat.

Bishop Mel finished her glass of wine, and stood up.

Argo smiled handsomely, "Have a fantastic day, Bishop. And look for Emillia, for everything. She is the lynchpin of our safety here in Loch."

She didn't even spare him a glance.

The sounds of her staff, and the heavy footfalls of the Junior Priests she had brought with her, grew further away, until they'd become completely absent.