The Haven-Carter campus was somewhat more sedate than would normally be expected. The usually boisterous student Hunters that would make the majority of the noise were, for once, quiet. Solemn even. As they walked to classes or sat quietly at the small cafés with grim expressions. A mist, thick with a sense of loss and an air simmering anger seeming to linger around every hushed discussion. Everyone else, from science majors to the law students had picked up on the mood quickly enough. Not knowing quite why things were the way they were, only that something truly tragic must have happened to put the usually boisterous students in such a mood. It didn't take long for them to understand however, as the awful news traveled fast through the social grapevine.

The details weren’t exactly clear, although Jess was responsibly sure the major points were at least correct, if slightly embellished, as all such things inevitably were. A group of recently graduated Hunters, apparently well known and liked on campus, and in the case of the one called Peter, well respected in the general community, had been killed while chasing down a lead on the recent killings. The news was still sketchy, but it seemed to everyone that  they were probably victims of a rival hunting group, one that had apparently been particularly thorough in executing the wounded Hunters in order to hide their own identities. An extremely uncommon, but not unheard of occurrence in the city states like Sovereigns Rest.

As much as the freedom the Hunters had might annoy the Guard, and the Malita to a point, the remoteness of the state and the dozens of settlements along the lakes and into the wilds meant that really, there was very little that could be done to rain in the organizations freedoms. They were simply too important to keep the trade flowing. And with that freedom came inevitable problems, such as infighting and violence.

Although Jess had never met the recently deceased herself, the way people spoke about him made Peter sound like a huge Teddy Bear of a man. A pillar of the community and defacto older brother and guardian to many students.

His death had hit several communities hard. Devastating those closest to him and his squad. It was the kind of thing that was used as an extreme warning to the young and stupid that they shouldn’t get involved in the investigations they had no business in.
If the guards couldn’t handle it then they would call the Hunting Associations management, something they had apparently done already, they didn’t need people trying to make a name for  themselves getting in the way. Especially the unprepared and foolish.

Emails to that effect had been sent to all students studying for their diploma. Not that it had deterred Max, or Merry, from plotting. Discussing details with hushed voices when they thought no one was listening. Of course, Jess’s ears were a little better than most so she would often listen in. Not to be rude or for an nefarious reason of course, her friends meant far too much to her for that to ever even be a consideration. The truth was she only did it just in case they were about to get themselves hurt and she needed to step in. It was maybe a little over protective of her, but after Ellie……

She shook her head to clear the thoughts that her name inevitably drew up. She still mourned her, likely always would. The guilt she felt would plague her for the rest of her days. But there was a time and a place, and here and now wasn’t it. Now was a time to learn and enjoy life… to do so for all the kindness that her soul had held. 

Walking into the Biological Science Centre, a large box of a building with far too much glass, Jessica took the steps to the second floor and directly to the office of professor Adderson. Her  assistance in the few experiments he was running was minimal, mostly just lending her considerable magic reserves to the process, but she didn’t mind. It gave her an excuse to flex her muscles and keep her skills sharp. It helped that the experiments were interesting, working with samples of tissue taken from monsters and digging deep into their natural healing and resistance to see how they worked. And of course it was nice that it distracted her while being around like minded people. 

Knocking on the door, she waited a moment before opening it and peeking her head into the room.
“Professor? Are you in?”

As usual Adderson was behind his desk against the far wall, working away at the computer. There wasn’t a lot to be said for him, he was an older man, his hair cut short and white with age, and he seemed to carry far too little flesh under his tanned, tortoise like skin. To the eye he was bordering on frail, as though a stiff breeze might snap him. Of course, looks could easily be deceiving, especially when magic was involved. Despite his age and appearance, Adderson would likely give any young hunter a run for their money in terms of energy and fitness.  

Looking up from his computer, and spinning in his chair, the professor beckoned her in. “Jessica! What brings you in today? Nothing pressing I hope?”

Jess shook her head, red hair parting for a moment to show her pointed ears before she pushed it back into place.
“Nothing urgent. Just…. I was just hoping I could get a permit for some silvered tools.”

Adderson raised a white and slightly overgrown eyebrow.
“Why do you need silver? I thought you were doing fine on the samples I gave you?”

It was definitely true she had been doing well with her own little experiments. Mostly just manipulating the makeup of various samples and attempting to fix problems she herself created, such as patching wounds or fixing cancerous growths.
She had also recently been given access to expired and unneeded blood, something the department was more than happy to cut disposal cost on, to experiment with. That was something she struggled with, individual blood cells being a lot harder to work with than most things, and working it into the samples she had only made them tougher to manipulate and work with.
“The problem is a lot of the samples are proving difficult. Most of what I’m using is blood donated on campus, and nearly everyone here is a mage or magically inclined.”

“So you're having trouble getting through things due to its natural resistance?” The professor thought for a moment, nodding to himself, “I understand, you’ll likely find that a lot of the interference is actually your own magic strengthening the samples as you interact with them.  But that is something of a third year problem, so I’ll see what I can do about a permit…. You’ll get one as a hunter anyway so I think I can make that happen.”

“Thank you.”
Her voice was soft as she nodded her thanks.

Adderson smiled but slouched a little, his brown eyes turning down cast as he spoke softly.
“I assume you’ve heard the news?”

Jess grimaced slightly. While she hadn’t known anyone involved, the recent killings and deaths still stuck a little too close to home.
“Yes…. It’s a tragedy”

The professor nodded slowly, his eyes searching her face for something.
“I can understand if this feels a little personal for you. If you need to talk to someone, my door is always open. And I’m sure Talia will make room for you.”

Swallowing a little she shook her head sadly.
“I’m ok, Talia’s sessions are helping a lot, and so is my team…… I’m coping well enough.”

“Good, good. In that case I won’t keep you. Let me know if you need anything and I’ll keep you posted about the silver.”

“Thanks Professor.”

With that she left. She didn’t want to talk, not today at least, and there wasn’t much for her in the building, not without Professor Adderson by her side. There was a small but vocal number of the students resented that she was not only a clear favourite with a privileged position, but also a Feyborn with natural talents in the field. Not that she particularly cared. She was on good terms, at least openly, with everyone she knew, even those that might be jealous weren’t hateful. Well most of them at least, a little kindness and a smile couldn’t do much about a poor upbringing or deep rooted belief.

⁂

After attending an afternoon lecture, and class on magic control that she was starting to think was unnecessary, Jess made her way back to her apartment. While it hadn’t been a long day, the early reminder of her dead friend had not helped her mood. Adding to the flat atmosphere was the abysmal weather that was starting to blow in. And now, after a day of feeling deflated, all she wanted was to curl up under her blankets and sleep. 

Not that sleep was a likely companion, especially not with her little group of friends standing outside her building and bickering, carrying packs of drinks that likely held plenty of alcohol and even more sugar in them.

“….Like I said! It’s your idea. You ring.”
Merry said, kicking her foot in Max’s direction. 

The blonde threw her a glare.
“And it’s your fault! You do it, Miss two good hands.” 

“Can’t,” Merry said, shrugging and holding up the cases of drink, “my hands are full.” 

Aden watched from a few feet away, the tallest of the group apparently uninterested in the argument and merely there to supervise the two. As such he was the first to spot Jess as she approached, giving a friendly wave and one of his characteristically wide smiles.
“Speak of the devil. You can stop arguing, you two, I found her.”

All eyes turned to the redhead, who in turn was eyeing the drinks. They weren’t expensive, but they were better than what Merry would usually bring. A seed of suspicion formed in the Feyborns mind as she took in the scene.

“Is this a bribe, payment, or just because you like me?”
She asked, giving her purple haired friend a knowing, if somewhat forced, smirk.

“Ummm…. all three?” Jess rolled her eyes, as Merry nodded at their blond friend. “Mc’Speedy here got his fingers broken.” 

“Oi!” Max held up his right hand, showing two very bruised, and very broken looking fingers.
“Merry broke them. Again!”

“Get better with a sword.”

“Stop aiming for my fingers!”

A cough from Jess got their attention. The Feyborn, sighing deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose and looking down.
“So you two were training, and Merry, you broke his fingers with your weapon…. Again.”

The two in question nodded.

“And instead of doing any basic first aid, you came here to see if I would fix it?” 

“They insisted on picking up the drinks first.”
Aden added with a smug glance at the idiots.

Jess let out a weary sigh and walked past them, swiping her ID and holding open the door.
“Come on then, before they start healing and we need to break them again.”  

⁂

Fixing a finger was reasonably easy. Provided the tendons were intact and the nerves undamaged, it really wasn’t a big deal to speed along the natural healing. Most would just patch it and put the patient on the path to letting that natural healing finish the job without much effort, it saved on magic and gave mundane doctors something to do. But Jess never liked that, and years of Ellie’s complaints had left her in the habit of at least making sure the damage wouldn’t be noticeable while the bones healed fully. 

In Max’s case she didn’t bother doing anything less than perfect though, and simply kept at it till the fingers were once again in a healthy state. Dropping a not inconsiderable amount of magic into the effort. But, unlike most, it was something that she could easily manage. It wasn’t as though the damage had been anything complex that really needed her full attention and minute control after all. Meaning she was free to let her mind drift. And with a few drinks in her and the slight sense of euphoria that working her magic brought, Jess was actually feeling a lot better about things. Most things anyway.
“No it…… Ugh. Look, too much magic forced into you is just bad, it’s our natural absorption of the stuff that leads to low birth rates as is!”

Currently she was trying to explain to Merry, for the third time, why she couldn’t simply magic her into a supermodel or give her super strength and another inch or two of height. While Aden and Max debated the merits of something over something, she had given up trying to listen after the mention of a particular engine and it’s piston displacement.

 “Yeah sure…” Merry took a sip of her drink and tapped her finger on the table as though she were making a point. “But if it’s already unlikely I’ll have kids? Like the rest of humanity? It’s not like I want them either.” 

Jess set her drink down and sighed.
“You know why griffons and wyverns are so strange looking?”

“Not really?”

She should have. Everyone should be taking basic magic manipulation, and if you paid any attention it wasn't hard to pick up the answer. But Jess would have to chastise her for that later. At that moment she was both too tipsy and too focused to bother with other points.
“Mutation. Magic works a bit like radiation…. Sure, it has its good points, but the more you get the more dangerous the outcome. First the low birth rate but better health, maybe an improvement in physique, but then it’s basically random selection on what it can do to you. Look at all the strange creatures that make up the Fey!”

Merry though for a long moment, seems to ponder those words deeply.
“So….. I might also get wings out of it?”

“I- no?” Jess ran her hand down her face in exasperation. “I need at least two more drinks before I’m capable of dealing with this.” 

“Speaking of conversations that need alcohol to handle.”
Aden said, as both he and Max shifted over to join the girls conversation.
“Max is plotting a complicated suicide.” 

“Don’t exaggerate.” A slight grimace crossed Max’s face as her carefully sipped his drink. “I just think that we should keep an eye on this whole….. cult thing?”

 “Not this again….”
Jess, deciding better judgment was obviously not going to win, drained the remnants of the bottle she had and cracked the top off of another.
“Please tell me you haven’t got a “cunning plan””. 

Max looked a little guilty as he shared a pleading look with Merry. “No?” The two spoke in unison. 

Aden tried not to laugh, putting his hand over his mouth and looking away, as Jess contemplated how she somehow managed to find herself surrounded by terminally moronic. It was very possible Ellie had left some kind of idiot scent on her as a parting gift so she would never escape the presence of stupid. That was exactly the kind of thing her lost friend would do. Jess was willing to bet she was laughing her arse off in whatever corner of the Saints palace she was tucked away in as this unfolded…..
Feeling a depressive spiral coming on she shook her head and tried to focus on the current problems.
“So yes…… did neither of you read the email?” 

Merry slouched back in her chair.
“Well yeah, obviously we got it. But come on, this whole thing is like a mystery made for us! We managed to sneak into the first scene after all.”  

Aden drummed a finger on the table.
“That was because you were both drunk enough we couldn’t stop you in time, and the guard didn’t take it too seriously that night.” 

The shorter woman shrugged.
“Pretty sure it was because we’re highly skilled and awesome”.

 “I’m almost certain that wasn’t it…. Max, I assume this is your idea?”
Jess said, looking at the blond. Who sheepishly took another swig of his drink, his youthful features giving him the look of a school boy who had been dragged before an angry teacher.

“No? I just keep getting the feeling we should stay close to it is all…. That there’s something more to it…” 

“More than a cult killing young women and stealing their blood? Or more than Hunters getting killed in a hail of bullets and blades?”

“Both?”

Aden patted his friend on the back.
“He still thinks it’s vampires and that we can somehow do what a well-armed group of semiprofessionals couldn’t.” 

Max gave him a sour look. Drumming his fingers on the side of his drink.
“I’m not saying we go slaying things, just investigating a little! It feels important we stick close to this…And before any of you say anything, no, I’m not a seer! My last dream was about being a pirate or something, who used a pentagram to find treasure on a map…. Or was the map a pentagram? Hexagram?…. But I was also in a city?” He paused, thinking for a moment as the alcohol worked its magic on him and his attempt to remember the rest of his dream.

Jess could only rub her temples, feeling the coming headache this would all inevitably cause.
“Pirates aside, what do we use when we get into trouble with this plan? My cutting wit and your practice swords?” 

Merry put her drink down with a thud. “Oh come on. You can stop hearts with a single touch, and do all kinds of crazy magic stuff. Adens strong as fuck, carries a knife, and has that whole kinetic thing he’s working on-“

“Kineticism” 

“Yeah, that thing. Max is…. What was it you wanted to focus on?”

Sighing Max shook his head. “Still not sure I want to specialise…. But pyromancy.”

“So flame stuff. And I can just shoot them.” Merry said with a shrug and a smile. Ignoring as all eyes turned to her.

“Since when did you have a gun?”
Aden asked pointedly.

“Since forever? They’re really cheap if you buy second-hand.”

“Can you even shoot?!”

“I go to the range once a week”.

Aden thought for a moment before resting his head on the table.
“You’re crazy”. 

Jess wanted to agree, but she couldn’t argue that having some kind of protection was a good idea. Especially given recent events.
“It might be a good idea to arm ourselves….. None of us are exactly Qualified Mages. Something more solid than magic might be a good idea. I don’t like not having some…… something to protect me” 

She had almost said someone, thinking of all the times Ellie came to her defence. Waving dismissively she did her best to move things along. Hoping against hope to get the conversation somewhere more productive.

“That aside, why are you two really so insistent on this? It's already gotten people better than us killed and really isn't something we should be involved with.” 

“Because it's exciting!” Merry exclaimed, jumping a little in her seat. “It's an actual cult doing strange rituals, and we could play a role in their demise!”

“I just can't shake the feeling we need to stick close to it…. And it's exciting, yeah.”
Max added with a shrug.

“It is kind of exciting,”
Aden, the usual voice of reason adding to the conversation, on the wrong side. “Not a good idea mind, but it's not like we’re doing anything else…. Well ok you are, but the rest of us are only taking our hunting course.” 

Jess again dragged her hand down her face. As usual she was outnumbered, and had utterly failed at finding a productive outlet for the groups enthusiasm. That Aden had chosen to vote with the idiots helped her opinion of the whole thing a little, but not much. It seemed both reckless and pointless, given their skill and ability to do anything even if they figured something out. There was also a troubling and sneaking suspicion that Max might be some kind of diviner, an extreme rarity, but possible, even if he hadn't realized it. It would explain how he always won at cards. And if that was the case then listening to him might be a good idea. Not to mention they might save a few lives while they were at it, the violent deaths of young women was something Jess could fully support putting an end to.

 “Fine…. Just monitoring it, yeah? No getting involved? No snooping around an active crime scene? No shooting people? Just keeping an ear to the ground?”

 Aden held up his hand.
“Scouts honour.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Merry finished her drink and leaned forwards over the table. “The real question is are we still going out this Fraysday night? I heard about a nice place that I want us to visit.”