Chapter 76 - Building Trust

“Candle lighting?” Edwin blinked in surprise, “Well, yes... it’s a meditation technique that we practice in the monastery. How do you know about it?”

Walt suppressed a grin as he looked over at Ah-Sing, “I received a letter in the belly of the trout that you gave me yesterday afternoon.”

“A letter?” The elder man asked, confused and curious. “Inside the belly?”

“Yes, I found a tin in the stomach when I was cleaning the fish! Inside was a letter, but it wasn’t addressed to me.” Walt said. He withdrew the tin out from his pocket and walked over to the table, sitting down at an unoccupied spot next to Edwin and setting it down in front of the monk. “It was addressed to Edwin.”

“F-for me?” Edwin asked in surprise. Even Finn had stopped eating and set down his bowl as he eyed the tin inquisitively.

The black mud casing chipped and crumbled as Edwin opened the lid of the tin. He pulled out a small sheaf of paper and read its contents while mouthing the words. His eyes widened as he set down the paper and withdrew a small vial from the tin.

The glass tube was smooth, with a rounded bottom. It was about the length and width of a finger and corked shut. Inside was a thin, alcohol-like liquid. It was clear, but smoky, with strands of faint rainbow colours twisting and churning within it. The vial was cold to the touch - or rather, Edwin felt like it was drawing away the heat in his fingers where they made contact with the glass.

The four people around the table examined the tube for a minute without speaking, mesmerized by the strange contents that seemed to be full of a mysterious energy.

“D.. do you know what it is?” Walt asked, clearing his throat.

“Yes.” Edwin said after a pause. This was the Catalyst for the Candidate of the Spirit Chain. From the descriptions and stories he had heard of it from his education at the monastery, he was sure of it. “This is what my Master and I came here for. How did it get here?”

“You said you found it inside a fish?” Finn asked Walt, who nodded and shrugged, looking over to Ah-Sing.

“Delivering an important treasure in the belly of a fish,” The older man had a suspicious glint in his eyes as his eyes reflected the faint light of the vial, “Sounds like something out of a fairy tale.”

“What is it? What does the letter say?” Finn asked.

“Take this while performing ‘Candle Lighting’ after lighting the fifth candle...” Edwin said, suddenly in great awe of his master. To arrange for this catalyst to be delivered to him in such a roundabout way meant two things.

 First, that the situation that his master was in really was dangerous! Dangerous enough that the catalyst needed to be delivered in this manner and not handled in person. Second, it demonstrated the incredible skill and ability of his master, who was able to make such a strange and mystical arrangement occur.

“I... I need to do this right away.” Edwin said, quickly coming to a conclusion, “When my master talked to me he said that things weren’t safe. He must have somehow arranged for this to happen ahead of time.”

“Is it dangerous?” Finn asked.

“If I wasn’t ready, he wouldn’t have given it to me.” Edwin shook his head as he placed his utmost trust in his master.

“As soon as we get back to Noga, I can arrange a suitable location for you.” Finn said. He noticed Ah-Sing and Walt nod subtly. Their expressions had grown colder when Edwin had suggested taking the potion, something that had not been missed by the junior officer.

“That’s right... Franz should be back around now. He will be able to take you back to the city.” Ah-Sing said, standing up and wiping his hands off on his pants, “Let’s go find him.”

“I have things to do as well.” Walt said. “You boys stay safe.”

Finn and Edwin followed the older men out of the house, and they headed down the path further into town. At the point where the path split back towards his home, Walt bid his farewell.

“Oh,” After a few steps he turned and called out to Finn, “Do you know my daughter? Her name is Christina Walt. She’s a police officer in Noga, although I don’t know which department she’s in.” 

“I don’t know her personally, but I should be able to find her without much trouble.” Finn said, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No, it’s nothing.” The stocky tailor said, waving, “Nevermind. Have a safe trip.”

Finn tipped his hat smartly towards the tailor and continued down the path towards the docks, following behind Edwin. 

Before long, the two of them were sitting on the back of a single-horse cart on the way back to Noga, driven by Franz, one of the fishermen in the village. They sat across from each other in silence, each occupied by their thoughts. 

Finn maintained an aloof attitude towards the vial in Edwin’s hand, but in actual fact he was deeply concerned by this development. As a junior police officer, though he was not ‘officially’ informed about Exalted and other supernatural phenomena, he was trained to immediately inform his superiors of strange and unusual events. Reporting this vial of ghostly, luminescent liquid certainly fell under his duties.

However he was not particularly inclined to report Edwin or the vial to the force. This action would likely result in the confiscation of the catalyst and detainment of Edwin for questioning by another department - out of reach of Finn. At best Finn might receive some paltry commendation or acknowledgement.

On the other hand, Edwin had connections - Connections to his Master, who had connections to the Cloud Peak Monastery. And with the bracelet that Finn had ‘found’ during his visit to the Monastery he had proof that the Cloud Peak Monastery was working together with the Marked Devout.

Blowing open a case like this would shoot him straight to the top of the force in record time!

Therefore, his promise to find Edwin a safe place to take the catalyst was genuine. He had no intention of telling anyone about his new friend. The question was, how to get closer to Edwin and gain his trust.

“What’s wrong?” Edwin said after a while, a look of concern in his eyes. This shook Finn out of his thoughts as he suddenly realized he had been inadvertently staring at Edwin while deep in thought.

“Nothing.” Finn said, “I’m thinking about where we can set things up for your ‘ceremony’. You said you needed five candles and a clear, quiet space.”

“Oh, I was just going to do it at Mr. Zhao’s place...” Edwin said, looking hesitant.

“That won’t do.” Finn shook his head, thinking on the spot, “I’m not completely sure about it, but there’s a good chance that Mr. Zhao has an Exalted guarding his home. After all, he’s a successful and rich businessman. They would likely sense you doing something strange and interrupt you.”

“R..really?” Edwin looked shocked.

“Yes, in fact I’m sure of it.” Finn said, thoroughly faking his confidence in the matter. “You can’t be too careful. Also, I’d hide that vial when we reach the city. If it’s spotted by a police officer, it would probably be confiscated. Ah, don’t worry about me. I won’t report you.”

“Wh-why not?” Edwin eyed Finn anxiously as he clutched the vial close to him, as if protecting it from Finn.

Finn just smiled warmly, “The main reason that the police confiscate Exalted items is to keep the peace. However, after spending time with you I know that you’re not the type to cause trouble. And actually, I’m very concerned about your master. It seems that he may be in trouble. I want to help you.”

Edwin nodded, relaxing a little, “Th-thank you. You’re right, I need to be careful. Thank you for watching over me.”

“No problem.” Finn nodded.

He kept the warm expression on his face until Edwin looked away. Only then did he let the tiniest of a grin form on his lips.

~

“What’s this?”

It had been a few hours since they’d left the village, and they were getting close to the city. The concerned tone in the cart driver’s voice broke Finn out of his thoughts as he turned around in the seat to look ahead.

In the distance, the rooftops of the city could just barely be seen past the rolling fields. They had just left the forest moments before and were traveling down a dirt road that cut through the rocky, grassy terrain. 

When Finn had traveled down this road the day before, it was just a normal looking field, nothing unusual about it. However today the fields were completely overgrown. The grasses were three feet tall and topped with puffy cat-tails that were as thick as a man’s arm. The leafy green trees that dotted the landscape seemed to have doubled in height and girth overnight and were blossoming with hundreds of vibrant flowers. 

Thick, vines with purple veins and heart shaped leaves coiled across the trunks of the trees and overtop boulders and sign posts. 

As they continued through the foreign looking landscape they passed by a wide path that had been trampled through the overgrowth. This path extended from the forest, where entire trees lay crushed and snapped, towards the city, as if a giant beast had rampaged across the landscape.

The three of them stared at the strange scene before them, not knowing what to say, as they tried to process the fantastical changes that had occurred overnight.

The words of warning from Edwin’s master rang through Finn’s head. It was really a good thing that they had left the monastery in the middle of the night. If the monks at Cloud Peak were responsible for what had happened overnight, then certainly Finn and Edwin would not have been allowed to leave. 

Finn tightly clasped the leather wristband in his pocket. It was the bracelet that he had ‘retrieved’ from the guest room in the monastery with the symbol of the Marked Devout branded on it. He needed to find out what had happened overnight, and report his findings as soon as possible. 

His expression grew serious as he looked towards the city. From a distance he looked stern and unaffected by the strange situation in Noga, but inside his pockets his hands were trembling.