Rain splattered against the sandy windows of his Krokotopian Manor as Milo James Barker awaited the arrival of his first guest. A party was being held in honor of his moving to a Metropolitan Manor and Milo was anxious to see who all would come. He'd invited a hefty list of guests but was only expecting three or four to show. Since he was moving, only a couple of pieces of furniture remained: two plush red chairs, a green wooden table, a Krokotopian plant, a bucket of water to care for the plant with, a towering statue of Boris Blackrock a student gave him in exchange for pet services, a small cooler of milk bottles for guests and his Obsidian Chest with his most prized possession located inside: a crystal ball that told the future. It had told him of this party and how he might be promoted to "Useful Member" in the Wizard Society for the Exceptionally Popular. Nothing could go wrong tonight.
The steps leading up to the manor were annoyingly slippery as Ludwig Von Zeke struggled to get to the front door with a large pouch tucked tightly under his arm. He'd been waiting for this party ever since the invitation made its way to his mailbox. Not only was this a prime time to work out trading deals with other merchants around the spiral, he would also finally be able to give Milo Barker the gift he'd wanted to give him for years. He patted the package under his arm. Oh yes, tonight, nothing would go wrong.
Milo had just settled down in one of his chairs when a knock at the door sent is milk glass flying out of his paw. "Amethide!" He called. A ghostly looking amethyst colored spectre appeared around the corner. It nodded at him, awaiting its order. "Will you please get the door for me?" As Amethide floated to the door, Milo recovered the shattered glass and threw it away in the small kitchen. "Ludwig! How nice of you to come tonight!" Milo exclaimed as he re-entered the room and saw the old tradesman. The two clasped hands/paws and made small chit-chat when another knock rang through the house.
"Oh, I do wish Barker would hurry up. The rain out here is going to give us a cold for weeks!" Cyrus Drake exclaimed impatiently while he and Lydia Greyrose waited outside of Milo Barker's manor.
"Now now, Cyrus. We must be patient and remember, be nice tonight. Milo's worked hard and we need to be respectful." Lydia said.
Cyrus coughed. "When am I not respectful?"
"Lydia! Cyrus!" Milo shrieked, glad that he wasn't alone with Zeke anymore. Zeke was not the best company and had a tendency to make things awkward. He walked over to the professors and started talking idly about Ravenwood and other things when a small rap on the door gave way.
Fallon should have brought an umbrella. This rain was totally making her hair frizz and look just awful! Why did she even come to this party anyway? It was just her mom's best friend getting rid of some dusty old manor. Very lame. Oh well, as long as there was free food or something, she would be pleased.
"Fallon! You've grown so much! How's school?" Milo Barker said to the death student as she walked into the threshold.
"Oh, it's good." She replied curtly. He nodded, seeing she wasn't one for speaking with adults and left her to mingle. A tap on his shoulder sent him spinning.
"Zeke! Can I help you?" The old prospector smiled and handed him a large bundle.
"A party favor, sir. I thought you might like this." Milo unwrapped the package uncertainly. A drake egg unfurled itself from the depths of the blanket and a gasp escaped Milo's lips.
"How did you…"
"I'm a tradesman. I can get anything." Zeke said proudly.
"Well, erm, isn't that swell?"
"Indeed it is."
Milo nodded and walked away with the egg safely under his arm. He then set it on the jade table as a centerpiece for all to admire. A small tapping made its way from the front door.
"Sorry I'm so late, Milo!" J.R. Lincoln said as he walked through the door and into the empty, barren house. "J.R.! Old chap!" Milo clapped his hand on Lincoln's shoulder. "Come on in and make yourself comfortable! I believe that's everyone from the guest list now so let's all get to know each other!"
About thirty minutes later, when all introductions had been made, Milo made them gather round for a toast, a very boring toast. He blathered on and on about how this house meant so much to him and gave everyone a glass of milk, slightly tainted milk. Cyrus was definitely not entertained. He yawned and looked at his watch, only 7:39. What time did this thing end? A clanking sound made each and every guest turn towards the table. The egg on the centerpiece was rocking back and forth! Milo shrieked and jumped up and down.
"Calm down imbecile," Cyrus ordered. "It is simply hatching. Surely, you, the man who works at the Pet Pavilion would be used to this by now?" Cyrus walked over to the egg and tapped it with the edge of his wand. The egg cracked open and green smoke billowed out from it, causing everyone to hack and cough. Cyrus saw Milo fall and hit the floor with a loud thud and then Lydia and then the Amethide Spectre, who had been standing guard over the obsidian chest, and he saw Fallon fall before, he too, fell.
Everything was blurry when Fallon woke up. A major headache was starting to form and she saw everyone lying unconscious on the floor. She groaned. The smell in here was terrible, like someone hadn't taken the garbage out in months. She got to her feet, brushed herself off and went outside to get her dragon and go find help.
A huge lump rested atop Mr. Lincoln's head, throbbing painfully. He lifted his head and looked around to see the guests getting up and rubbing their heads. He, too, got up and asked what had happened. Milo pointed a threatening finger at a frightened Zeke and cried, "He did this!" He then turned to Zeke. "What did you put in that? Fallon is missing now!" Sure enough, the girl was not to be found. Zeke held his hands up in defense.
"It must have been a prank! I'd have never had anything to do with that and as for the girl, I have no idea! Maybe she left?" Drake exited the house and came back stating that the dragon was indeed, gone. What was going on here?
The wind rushed through Fallon's hair as she landed next to Milo's house with Sherlock Bones. The old dog detective sniffed the air and dismounted the dragon. They then entered the house and Fallon quickly explained that she had only gone to get help. "Apparently, my assistance is not needed," Bones said as he made his way back outside.
"Nonsense!" Milo cried. "Stay and enjoy the rest of the party! We still haven't finished the toast yet!" So they passed around the milk bottles and drank to Milo's new home. Fallon set her glass down defiantly. Milk was far too childish for a grandmaster such as herself.
Sherlock Alphonse Bones had never been one to go to parties and now he saw why. This party was going as slow as molasses. He planted himself in one of the red chairs and toasted to Milo and his new home, with milk. Who had milk at a party? Cats were just weird, especially Milo. Right now, the guy looked positively deformed. Sherlock straightened up quickly. The cat wasn't deformed. He was keeling over and before Sherlock could say anything, Milo fainted. Sherlock ran over to him worriedly and ordered Fallon to go get a doctor. She left and Sherlock picked up Milo's milk bottle and felt the rough substance inside: poison. Who would want to poison Milo Barker? A fog started spreading over his mind and he, along with the rest of the guests, passed out.
Fallon liked to consider herself an expert dragon rider. She was gone from the party and back with Dr. Simon Purreau in no time flat. The cat doctor was a skittish man. He clung onto her as they flew and even screeched as they crossed over a lake. By the time they landed, he was shaking.
"Y-you flew ov-over that lake on p-purpose!" He accused, giving her a dirty look.
She shrugged. "Maybe, but I believe you have more things to worry about, like the people passed out inside."
The doctor had never seen anything like this in his nine lives. He walked over to each of the unconscious guests and felt for heartbeats. None were dead but Milo's heart was slowing with every passing second. The doctor asked Fallon to take the host to the hospital while he tended to the other guests. She grunted, but obliged and dragged Milo out the door none too gently. Simon walked around, pleased that no one else was poisoned. He picked up the milk jug and sniffed it delicately. His cat nose could identify almost every scent and this was not the scent of milk. There was milk in it, yes, but for once Doctor James Purreau could not tell what substance this was.
Ludwig Von Zeke is a very convincing man, thought the woodland elf as he watched the proceeding from inside his crack in the wall of Milo Barker's house. No one had ever noticed him. He was a small wooden man with a small wooden staff and few belongings. He had only a book and a scroll hidden away with him for he loved to read and Milo had never bothered to look at them when they had previously been in his library. The elf would take much better care of them. Also, he wore a velvet blue hat and vest with green trimming. He didn't need anything fancy. Something did catch his attention though as he watched Zeke fall to the floor. A white parcel jutted out of the man's waistcoat. He strode over to it, unaware that another was watching him and plucked it out of Zeke's coat. Opening it, he read what had to be the most diabolical plot in history.
Doctor Purreau knew woodland elves were a very rare sight so he made sure not to move a muscle as one peeked out of his hiding place in the wall and found a letter in Ludwig's pocket. He watched as the elf read the letter and looked around wildly in alarm. He spotted the doctor and ran to him with the letter. The doctor jumped up uncertainly. Woodland elves did not make themselves known, let alone approach other species. The elf paused a moment and then hesitantly handed the letter to the doctor. Simon took the letter and read it through, then reread it to make sure he wasn't imagining things. When he looked up again, the elf was gone.
Fallon rode back to the old house yet again, this time with an older looking dog wearing a sheriff's uniform. He grunted with each twist and turn of the dragon but didn't seem near as frazzled as the cat had. They landed easily and walked quickly into the house where Doctor Purreau handed them a letter he said had been in the prospector's coat pocket. It read:
Everything has gone according to plan. The poison has taken its toll and soon, the crystal ball will be mine! The perfect prize for my market! Everyone will go nuts for it and I'll be the richest of the rich! Oh the wealth! I just have to wait now for the chloroform gas to pass off and soon we will have succeeded. I hope you get this soon so you know how my plan is going. You are the mastermind behind it and I anticipate our success! I will write again soon!
Zeke
"He must have written it here, after the poisoning and meant to send it away but never got the chance to." The sheriff mused.
"Who's this mastermind guy?" Fallon asked, a little worry creeping into her voice.
The cat and dog both shook their heads.
"Well, I had better lock this one up," the cop pointed over at Zeke. "He'll be up for questioning tomorrow for sure. Never really trusted him anyhow. Always seemed a little off."
"And I'll be taking these ladies and gentlemen," Doctor Purreau gestured around the room. "to my hospital. Fallon? A little help please?"
So Fallon ferried all the unconscious guests to the intensive care unit and watched quietly as they took Zeke off to the Marleybone prison. She smiled. He had done well. Zeke was the perfect little puppet for her plan. No one would ever question death again after this plan finally unfurled. It would be too late. They would all perish. With a swish of her cloak, she mounted her dragon and took off into the night.