Julia was at Engelram's Warehouse searching through his immediate things with two of her investigators Connor Murdock and Leighton Edwards. Connor, a human, worked with Julia from her previous firm, and decided to follow her when she formed JJI, and afterwards became exposed to the existence of the Fae. Given the fact that he and Julia come from a firm that had investigated the unsual anyway it wasn't a far leap. Leighton, a Light Fae from a neighboring County joined the firm through a referral from Erik Lykke. Both Leighton and Erik came from the same County, and at the time Leighton had been an independent investigator himself. While Erik was a Shadow Fae Leighton could actually transform into a fog-like, gaseous form. Julia use to think Erik's ability was unsettling enough, until she met Leighton. Every great now and then they would tag team on the rest of her staff just to be funny. Julia would always shake her head.
Julia was glad Tamsin and Reed had Engelram's Warehouse secured after Engelram's death. Reason being, there were still a great many artifacts that needed to be accounted for. They formed a Catalog Team so everything in Engelram's collection could be meticulously documented for storage. Everyone was shocked at how many artifacts Engelram had. But then again his Warehouse comprised ten large warehouses that were all interconnected. Passerbys never questioned its size or composition because it was situated in a Warehouse District. As far as passerbys were concerned the building was just another unkempt, dumpy warehouse, but little did they realize it held some of the most ancient treasures in the Fae world.
"So Dyson said he has someone that can help us start looking for this artifact." Leighton said.
"Oh, who would that be?" Conner
"Clio." Julia answered as she looked through some papers.
"Clio? Should we know her?" Leighton asked.
"She is kind of an investigator slash bounty hunter. I met her at the same time I met Dyson and Bo. She is an Elemental Fae who helped Dyson find Bo when she disappeared from an interstitial plane some twelve years ago. She's a rare one, one who can manipulate all of the elements, and because of which she can traverse planes of existence. She will be very in the little egg hunt." Julia explained.
"Sounds like it." Connor replied.
"Yeah, except we need to look out for one thing." Julia said.
"What is that?" Leighton asked.
"She is not to be trusted. The reason why she helped Dyson find Bo is because she was on a bounty hunt." Julia replied.
"Oh." Leighton said.
"We just need to be mindful that her interest in helping may have ulterior motivations." Julia advised.
"Good to know." Leighton replied.
About an hour later Tamsin and Reed walked into Engelram's old office and saw Julia, Connor and Leighton looking through papers and writing down notes, and taking pictures. Tamsin and Reed noticed the Catalog Team had set up shop in another part of the Warehouse, documenting each artifact.
"So, how is everything going?" Tamsin asked.
"Engelram has a lot of stuff. He has some documentation but not much. We have our work cut out for us for sure." Julia replied.
"How long will that take?" Reed asked.
"For my team? Perhaps a few days because we are looking for something specific. For the Catalog Team? Who knows."
"Anything on our mysterious relic?" Tamsin asked.
"We found a few historical books about the Fae that include information on some of the old relics. Nothing that matches the picture we have of it though, but we'll keep searching." Julia replied
"Understood." Tamsin said.
"I thought Clio was coming?" Julia asked.
"She should be here any time now. Dyson got a hold of her late last night after speaking with Trick." Tamsin replied
"By the way, any word on how things are going on that other side?" Julia asked.
"How is all what's going on that other side?" Clio said as she entered the room. She waved to everyone.
"Hi! I'm Clio!"
"Glad you made it." Tamsin said.
"Surprised Dyson even called." Clio replied.
"I'm Tamsin, Ops Head for both the Light and Dark Fae. This is Reed Evangrassi, my Intelligence Head. That is Connor Murdock and Leighton Edwards they work for Julia whom I understand you already know."
"Nice to meet you all. Julia, good to see you again. Have been following your adventures. Quite the firm you have set up. My compliments." Clio said.
"Thank you. I am glad you could help us out here." Julia replied.
"So what can I do you for?" Clio asked as she surveyed the group.
"We are dealing with a situation that requires your specific talent and expertise." Tamsin replied.
"Dyson brought me up to speed on what's happened so far. Engelram bit it, huh?" Clio said.
"In a big way." Julia replied.
"So how can I help you?" Clio asked.
"We need to find this relic and it may require some plane-jumping. Julia knows what it looks like and the Under Fae who took it so you will be working principally with her. Leighton will go as your backup, along with Reed here." Tamsin replied.
"An entourage. I'm flattered." Clio said.
"The backup may be needed." Tamsin replied.
"I see. Do you have a picture of this relic we are trying to find?" Clio asked. Julia pulled out a photo of it and handed it to Clio. Clio's eyes narrowed for a moment then her eyes revealed a sudden awareness.
"You recognize something?" Julia asked.
"The writing. It took me a moment to recognize but it is ancient. Really, Really ancient." Clio replied.
"That was my reaction as well. I have only seen once before, on a dead warrior's body, but I don't know what it means. Do you understand what any of it means?" Tamsin asked.
"From what I can translate this," Clio pointed to the out ring of symbols, "is like a chant or something. But this word sticks out." She pointed to an inner ring of symbols. "This entire language is in an ancient Fae language, but this word translates into the Egyptian word 'vase.' Strange." Clio replied.
"Engelram said it was the key that secured our futures." Julia said.
"Well, that can mean anything. Did he say anything else?" Clio asked.
"Mentioned someone named Kamu." Julia replied.
"Kamu?" Clio queried.
"Ever heard of that name?" Reed asked.
"Doesn't ring a bell." Clio replied.
"So how are we going to track this puppy down?" Connor asked.
"I have a source, her name is Sadie, an Afreet who jumps regularly between planes." Clio replied.
"Never heard of her." Leighton replied.
"Au contraire." Clio said teasingly.
"Excuse me?" Reed said.
"You may know here as Sadie, the actress who played in 'Lethal Grace' TV series."
"Get out! She's Fae! I adore her!" Connor said excitedly.
"Trust me, she will adore you too. To death. She's a Fae who feeds off adoration." Clio said.
"C'mon! Are you kidding me? Can't a guy get a break around here?" Connor said. That made everyone smile.
"Well, it's going to take a moment to find her. When Lachlan was The Ash he banished her from this plane. I don't know the details. Something to do with the Garuda back in the day. But Ryan Lambert kept tabs on her so we start with him." Clio said.
"Great! I will let everyone know then." Tamsin replied.
"Just to let you know this may take time. Real time to hunt down the breadcrumbs on this one." Clio warned.
"Understood. Then I will leave you all to it, then. Reed will stay here to help out. I need to get to the Dal and touchbase with Kenzi." Tamsin then gave a quick wave and left.
"So I wonder how everything is going with Bo and Trick?" Julia commented.
"Is there a problem?" Clio asked.
"No. They are on a plane-jumping trip themselves." Leighton replied.
"Is this a new trend in travel now? The Maldives is not good enough?" Clio quipped.
"There are at the Presidium." Leighton informed. Clio's mouth dropped.
"Say that again?" Clio asked.
"They are at the Presidium." Leighton repeated. Clio's mind raced as she grabbed the photo of the relic and looked at it more intently.
"Clio?" Julia asked curious about Clio's reaction.
"Not sure. The mention of the Presidium rang something in my head. I can't place it though." She shook her head. "It could just be a meshing of memories." Clio replied.
"Have you been to the Presidium?" Julia asked.
"Yes. Once. A very long time ago." Clio replied.
'We should get started on the hunt for this Sadie character." Julia said.
