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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GuardianLurker" data-source="post: 3067403" data-attributes="member: 786">The Case of the Missing BeaconThe Case of the Missing BeaconThe shores of Celestia are home to thousands of lighthouses. Set among scenes of natural beauty that could bring joy to one of the shades of Hades, surrounded by carefully groomed grounds that even a modron could admire, each lighthouse contains a beacon shining with the divine light of the Good to guide the worthy to its shores. They shine day and night, beckoning and comforting to all who see them.Except this <a href="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=25903" target="_blank">one</a>. And that's why I'm here. Sometimes, usually due to outside influences, things go wrong, even here. That's when they call me, or one of my kind. Some of us get the easy jobs - repelling demon hordes. Other of us get the hard jobs - a leaf that isn't as green as it should be. Me, I get the weird things - like missing beacons. My name is Pade Shammer, and I'm an investigator for the Good. I'm not an Angel or an Archon, just someone who needs to contribute, and this is what I do.Much like the <a href="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=25901" target="_blank">tower guard</a> who was approaching me. Obviously on edge, he had his bow readied as he flew down from the top of the tower, and his yellow hawk eyes glared at me over his beak. And I don't mean that in any figurative sense, either. He was an actual hawkman from one of the nearby mountain-hills. Not the Great Mountains of the center, just some echoes along the shore. "You Shammer?"Well, that was a surprise - my hawkman was a hawkwoman. If I had been familiar with her species' colorations I would have known that. Even though I'm not a hawkman myself, I suspect she was a beauty of their kind. In Celestia, everything is. "Yes. Pade Shammer, Investigator. It's good to meet you. What are you called?""I am called Willa Arroweye." Even if you've never read one of these reports before, you know the procedure - it's a fairly obvious one after all. Aside from her name, I established that this was her first time guarding any of the lighthouses her Nest was responsible for, that she considered it a great honor, and that she was really worried. According to Willa, early in her shift she had heard the sound of a surging crowd coming from the shoreline. Generally, souls needing guidance don't arrive in surging crowds so she left the lighthouse to determine what it was. When she arrived at the beach a few minutes later, there was nothing to be seen. She searched the beach for any signs of intrusion, and only found a single set of footprints in the sand on the tide line. Willa claimed that the prints had been filled with a black sticky substance. She also told me that as soon as she had discovered the prints, the beacon light went out. She raced back to the tower, but the beacon light itself was gone, and the only other trace were some more of the tarry tracks around the beacon housing.I asked her to show me the tracks, and she gestured with her wings to indicate yes. I was both too big, and too heavy for her to carry the hundred feet to the top, so I opened the door and walked up the long flight of stairs. One of the benefits of Celestia is that your neighbors are trustworthy; closeable doors are for privacy and cleanliness, the latter in this case.At the top of the stairs, I entered the beacon room. Spartan, functional, and elegant, the mess of tarry footprints stood out. Indeed, it seemed like the polished granite floor was trying to push the prints away from its otherwise pristine surface. I knelt and examined the prints. Each print was a little longer in length than my hand and about as narrow. They were also made by bare human-style feet that ended in small claws or talons. I double-checked at that point - Willa's feet were more bird-like and ended in large talons, which is what I expected, trustworthy neighbors after all, but it never hurts to make sure. I also recognized the smell - the tarry substance was actually a mixture of thick black mud, bile, blood, and filth. It also registered as alien and wrong to all of my senses, indicating that it was probably from one of the abyssal plains.My examination wasn't done, though. I examined the beacon housing, expecting to see the corrosion a fiend's touch would leave on the shining celestial steel, but all I found were the oily residue of fingerprints, and a few scratch marks. None of the scratch marks indicated the beacon had been dragged out of its housing, however. It seemed to have been lifted straight up and out without ever scraping against the housing's side. This implied that the thief had been both extremely strong (a beacon weighs in excess of a quarter ton) and careful. The identity of the thief was puzzling; the clues weren't adding up as I was expecting. Not quite as puzzling as the case where I dealt with a sentient pile of murderous used bubblegum, but not the usual open and shut case either.But in all ways, I knew where I had to go next. I thanked Willa, and transported myself to the Layered Hall on the Astral. If my destination was what I suspected I didn't want to leave from Celestia anyway. Once there, as always, I was greeted by the Recordkeeper, and as always, he handed me a book without asking. Or letting me into the hall for that matter. It was Roldigold's Survey of the Abyss. I had never heard of it, but as always it proved to be exactly what I needed. Well, except for that one time with the bubblegum, but that was an aberration on many levels and issues. This time, the Recordkeeper's gift did not fail me. I had been thinking of the Abyssal Layer of Filth and its Lord. I've encountered his/hers/its minions before; it regards the celestial cleanliness as both a challenge and affront. A minor nuisance usually. But this time, the Filth Lord appeared to be uninvolved. The determining factor was the crowd noise. Together with the mud mixture, it directed me to the domain of Legion.I was not happy about this. Though originally a minor fiend, Legion has survived for aeons. And that means it has grown in power too. Legion was not a fiend I wanted to confront. But I must do as my duty compels me. So I transported myself to the color pool that lead to Legion's realm, formed a Sphere of Celestial Invulnerability around myself, and stepped through.And learned how Legion had survived. As a master of subtle and mundane tricks that are hard to compensate for. In this case, the pool opened a small distance above Legion's body. The Sphere, and I, fell. Far enough that when Legion's waiting arms caught the Sphere, I was <a href="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=25902" target="_blank">knocked off my feet</a>, giving it time to carry me towards its core.Legion was angry, and its core assaulted me with questions in a choral voice. Most particular, Legion desired to know why my agents had stolen its precious Torch of Black Fire. When it said that, everything fell in place, and I knew what had happened. Without replying I immediately transported back to the Astral Plane, and then to Celestia, and Willa's lighthouse.She was a little surprised to see me, but greeted my appearance cheerfully. I smiled at her, and ran up the stairs to the beacon's room. Once there, I carefully examined all the prints, and found the final telling clue. A small scale, as if from some draconian creature. A scale from the thief itself.With this, the case was almost over. I told Willa I'd return with the beacon, and travelled to the nearest divining pool. With the aid of the scale, I scryed the thief. Everything was as I suspected.But I think the half-dragon wizard was more than a little surprised when I interrupted his ritual attempt to replicate Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn and reclaimed the beacon. At any rate, he was surprised enough that I escaped with the beacon before he could even act.The beacon's back in place now. Willa was demoted , and is currently serving on the border patrols. A much more wary guard has replaced her, and all of the lighthouse guards have been alerted. For my part, I have new case. A gorgeous angel just walked into my office and told me she wants my help in finding her husband.</blockquote>

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