ESCAFLOWNE WEEK 2021: Day 1: FORTUNES | THE TOWER

The Pyre of Reckoning

NOTE:

Happy 25th Anniversary, Escaflowne!

The prompts this year are amazing. And I decided to do a bit of research on the meanings of the tarot card for each prompt and it helps inspire ideas for the fics.

Since I watch a lot of detective dramas, I figured I would try my hand at writing a bit of one here. The mystery isn't the point of the piece, but I had fun exploring a genre I haven't really written before. And when I decided on which characters to feature for this, I found some interesting new dynamics that I enjoyed writing about.

As I was writing this, it got longer than I expected so I have split this piece into three parts. This first section deals with the mystery and features Detective Dryden.

Enjoy and let me know what you think. Thank you!

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"There's been another incident, sir."

Dryden Fassa frowned as he took the report from his trusted advisor, and noted the expression on the latter's face. The Rat Man looked more worried than usual, and that was indication enough of the gravity of the situation. He bowed respectfully before leaving his master to make sense of the latest case.

The Asturian merchant began reading the report concerning the destruction of another merchant's shipment of goods in a fire that was evidently not accidental. The fire took place at a warehouse of raw materials for building different machines, including guymelefs. The warehouse had been built in a fairly secluded location, ostensibly to avoid such incidents but someone had managed to infiltrate the place and to set it ablaze so effectively that all of its contents would be rendered useless.

The details of the incident had not yet been released to the public but such an unfortunate event could not be kept secret for too long. Dryden simply had the privilege of an extensive network of contacts that provided him with relevant information as soon as it was available.

Taken on its own, the fire at the warehouse should not be too alarming. Such things happened, after all, and every merchant had to take into account potential risks to their business. In many cases, they also had the benefits of insurance, to help them recover from any losses. But this particular merchant was not so fortunate.

And Dryden knew well that this was no isolated incident. He had been monitoring similar cases for the past few months and if he was right, this was already the fifth such fiery accident that had taken place. He could not yet see the pattern but his gut told him these were all connected. And he was determined to find out who was behind all this, and he did not mind spending hours and hours analyzing the information he had at hand.

Despite his many duties to the Asturian throne, Dryden still made time to study this series of incendiary incidents. He had a strong feeling that these were part of some larger conspiracy. But at the risk of sounding like a madman, he decided to keep his theories to himself and to his faithful rat man advisor. Until he had more conclusive evidence, he did not dare bring this up with the other authorities.

He particularly did not wish to bother the Asturian princesses with this matter. While their father's health had improved, it was not yet enough to enable him to resume his duties as leader of his country. So the running of Asturia fell to Princess Millerna, with the support of her older sister, Princess Eries. They had developed a robust way of working that had been effective so far and that had all the signs of being a sustainable way of ruling. It helped, of course, that they had much support from their allies within and beyond the borders of Asturia. Dryden did all he could to help, and so while he could not be sure of his latest project, he would not bother them with it.

He examined the evidence he had before him, laying out the reports the rat man had compiled, with all the places, dates, quantities, witness testimonies, and other relevant details. It was going to be another long night.

So far, the targets had been varied enough not to reveal any obvious pattern, other than the fact that fires were involved each time, which was not enough to draw significant suspicion. The owners of these destroyed shipments had reason to keep their existence secret so this also prevented them from reporting their elimination to the legitimate authorities. Some of these targets were small enough that their destruction was swept under the rug, although this was no impediment to Dryden getting the information on them. The more the victims tried to hide, the more Dryden was determined to learn the truth.

He was acquainted with these merchants, most of them being members of the international guild formed to ensure the efficiency of trade across Gaea. He had encountered many of them in various trade events and at times, he had even had business dealings with some of them. But he also knew that they were not to be fully trusted and that they had other, suspicious affairs that, so far, had yet to be proven. And yet, such were the "open secrets" of the merchants' guild. Everyone knew you were up to no good, but no one could find proof enough. Or those that did would conveniently disappear.

So one had to tread carefully. And for all his appearance of nonchalance and whimsy, Dryden Fassa was painstakingly cautious, especially when it came to business. He would not have survived or thrived as a merchant in the cutthroat world of Gaean trade had he been a weaker man.

He carried out his investigation and listed the five targets. There was one small boat that had been carrying a wide variety of items, but which also included illegal arms. It had been on the way to Cezario when, according to the reports, it had mysteriously exploded, off the coast of Daedalus. The crew managed to escape the sinking ship but the cargo was lost to the depths of the sea. None of the survivors could identify the perpetrator and the matter had been hushed up and concluded as an accident.

The second target was a load of textiles being transported via carriage across Basram. Textiles were the declared cargo although those who knew better were aware that in between the fabrics were packets of a certain illegal substance. While on the usual route, the carriage went up in flames. The people transporting it escaped with their lives, but the contents of the carriage turned to ash. Survivor accounts mentioned a small explosive being detonated. But again, no one could find the culprit.

The third attack happened on an airship transporting rare metals to Asturia. The crew reported that someone seemed to have sabotaged it as it burst into flames and crashed in the Chatal Mountains. The cargo could never be recovered and the survivors were too shaken to recall any other details. One was reported to have seen a ghostly figure in a dark cloak in the engine room, but no one else could confirm this.

The fourth was another carriage that had exploded, this time on the road to Daedalus. The small vehicle bore spices and other foodstuffs that were rare delicacies in the region. Smuggled along with these items were poisons. The fire and the various substances were a deadly combination that left the small carriage in ruins and its transporters traumatized. Some mentioned a figure that walked through the fire but this had been dismissed as hallucinations brought upon by breathing in the toxic fumes from the fire.

Then, the warehouse. Again, the main target seems to have been the goods inside and not any individual person. As with all the previous incidents, the damage seemed to be directed at the merchants who owned the cargo, and indeed, there had been significant disruption to their finances.

While there were suspects for each attack, none could be proven guilty. All the owners had been merchants with legitimate enough reputations and with no immediate ties to any organized crime. No armed groups or other elements came forward to take credit for the attacks. None of these seemed to be politically motivated.

It almost seemed random. And yet. Why was there always fire involved? And why these particular shipments? The attacks were small but somehow still strategic. Each incident seemed chaotic but there was a calculation to it as well, a method to the madness.

Dryden's brows furrowed as he stared at the mass of reports, charts, pictures, and lists before him. He felt that he was on the cusp of a breakthrough, if he only persisted.

The next few nights were spent digging deeper into the background of the merchants affected. It took some doing as they were careful to cover their tracks. Again, all outward appearances made them seem legitimate but Dryden knew that some of them would not have risen to such prominence without certain, unpleasant associations.

He pored over detailed and dull records of transactions, lists of names and dates and places and exchanges, transcripts of interviews, anything he could find his hands on. It reached a point where he barely left his office and the rat man would simply deliver food and water to him there, as well as a change of clothes. Dryden fell asleep at his desk and then would wake up abruptly as new ideas came to him. He would not rest until he got to the bottom of this.

And then, after weeks of diligent research, he finally found a thread that linked all incidents. Someone had been careless in their filing and had left a crumb of information that somehow shed light on the whole affair. He had discovered who the merchants had been supporting.

The sorcerers of Zaibach.