The Briefing

Alcorith Horizons was located in a tall skyscraper on the south east section of the city.

Inside, it was very plain, and the ground floor was dotted with normal lobby furniture. Framed paintings of famous mages lined the wall.

Sitting behind the desk was Infinity's demon wolf companion, Ebone. He was forever cheerful, and nearly jumped out of his chair when Silver Moon passed through the door.

"Hi guys!" Ebone called, waving wildly at them.

"Infinity wished to see us," Umbra said sternly, holding his arms behind his back.

"Right! Come on, he's been waiting," Ebone said, hopping onto the floor. He pushed open the door behind the desk, letting it rest on his arm as he held it open.

Umbra blinked, swallowing down an unexpected nerve. This was the first time Infinity had ever proposed such a meeting with them, so it must be serious. Whatever his guildmaster was tasking him with, Umbra had to succeed.

Umbra straightened his tie to disguise his cold feet, and waited for Matthew to come to his side before he entered Infinity's office.

"You ready?" Matthew asked, squeezing his hand.

"This could be our first big job," Umbra replied with a grin, "So of course I am."

----

Infinity's office was just as Umbra remembered: plainly decorated, cluttered, and average size. Several sets of filing cabinets stretched behind the desk, holding all of the information about the hundreds of teams that were employed by the guild.

Infinity sat at his desk, focusing on his computer. Behind him, a pen suspended in air scribbled across a similarly floating sheet of paper. Umbra figured telekinesis made for easy multitasking.

Arms behind his back, Umbra called, "Guildmaster Infinity! Silver Moon reporting!"

Infinity stood, the pen and paper lowering onto his desk. Two magenta eyes gazed sternly across the room, his cat slits glinting.

"Sit," he ordered calmly, and Umbra complied. Infinity drew a file from his desk, sliding it to Umbra. He nodded his head, urging Umbra to examine it.

Within the file, there were photos of mages with captions below them, mysterious blood stain patterns, and items scattered on concrete. Umbra was reminded of the case files that were used on the police dramas he and Matthew liked to watch.

"There have been a series of disturbances reported around Alcorith, and they all seem to tie into each other. Several of my own members have disappeared, and I suspect foul play," Infinity began.

Matthew thumbed through the file. "Do you have any idea who's doing it?"

"My informants at the police station have reported some strange arrests that appear to be connected, so I suspect this is a group."

"'Like, what sort of disturbances are we talking about?" Aunora asked, crossing her arms. She hadn't taken Infinity's order to sit, and hovered over Umbra's shoulder.

"Violent crimes, particularly the killings of seemingly unrelated persons. These crime patterns have led me to assume we're dealing with an unregistered mercenary guild in Alcorith."

"Which is bad?" Aunora murmured.

"Very," Infinity countered, "Unregistered guilds give dangerous criminals the opportunity to carry out underground schemes without the police finding out. Not to mention that they steal our business."

"And..." Infinity paused, sliding out a photo with his telekinesis. It was of a young, smiling man with kind eyes. "The most recent disappearance was a man by the name of Abiathar Norton. He was supposed to deliver some important data to me, but he never returned to my office last night." Infinity's eyes seemed to mist over. "He's a good man, and I would like to return him to his spouse and kids."

Beside Umbra, Matthew sniffled. He snatched the photo of Abiathar from the air, stuffing it into his inner breast pocket. "Don't worry, sir. We'll find him. Tell those kids their dad will be home in no time."

Umbra cleared his throat, quickly grabbing the focus away from Matthew. "Infinity, sir, what is our mission?"

Infinity handed him a sheet of paper. "I would like your team to investigate this guild and try to get to the bottom of the disappearances. I've heard rumors of where it may be located, so you should search there first."

Umbra scoured at the address. "This is in a rather dangerous part of the city."

"I trust that your team is ready for a mission of this caliber. It will be risky, but you seem to be a competent group of mages." Infinity offered a salute, and Umbra quickly returned it.

"So...We gotta bust a bunch of criminals and rescue some dude?" Aunora said, winking at Umbra, "That sounds kinda familiar, huh?"

Author's Note: i guess the juicy stuff starts now