Green tea huffing and puffing within the local tea shop. Violet tapestries of the town hang on the wooden walls of the tea shop. Strangers chatting away and quietly sipping their simmering tea on wooden tables neatly organized with matching violet table cloths. Small pastries varying from chocolate croissants to blueberry muffins lay in the middle of these tables. Whispers of gossip from the same local women can be heard, "...and so then he had the audacity to ask why I was so upset? The nerve!"
"I can't believe he would do that!", the lady across from her responded. Truth be told, people often come to this tea shop just to listen to what these two women have to say, it always happens to be interesting gossip. Yet, today was different. A town meeting was being held to discuss a local disturbance.
Tea and pastries were on the house tonight for all attendees. The room was packed to the brim and in the corner were 3 charming men sitting down drinking coffee. One had long silky black hair that was tied up elegantly, he brought forth a feeling of both grace and refinement. Sharp emerald green eyes that could entrap anyone within seconds. He wore simple dark green robes with black hem. He held a small ethereal smile as he enjoyed his warm tea that brought forth a subtle pink tint on his pale skin.
He spoke in a soft but clear tone as he voiced to the two men sipping tea with him, "I like the tea here, it isn't too hot or too cold. Not that I would mind if it was!" He was a bit bashful towards the end as he coughed, looked away, and looked back at them. One of the men across from him started to laugh with a carefree smile as he looked up from his tea, his smile and laughter could truly light up the room. Eyes darted towards him, charmed.
He had soft golden honey eyes and short fluffy brown hair. Tan skin complimented his strong, bold features. He wore black robes with gold lining that fit snuggly, he looked well put together with a red beaded bracelet on his right wrist. Sweet dimples were revealed through his laughter as he nudged the fellow next to him, "Hey Bax! Look at our shy little sheep!"
The fellow next to him sighed and flicked his head, "Rem, you're too much energy!" This upset little fellow then crossed his arms with a naturally grumpy expression. He had long red hair that was loose and curly towards the ends. Piercing violet eyes glared at the man next to him as his eyebrows furrowed. He wore intricate violet robes with black patterns of swirls towards the bottom, almost like a storming ocean.
The yellow eyed man looked startled for a second as he started laughing once again, "Got it, got, I'll tone it down!" He was quite a playful person compared to the red haired fellow next to him who started to shake his leg in impatience. "Wasn't the meeting supposed to start 30 minutes ago?"
The green eyed person nodded in agreement as he sipped his tea once again, "You're right, I'll go speak with the person hosting this meeting." The yellow eyed man looked straight at the red haired fellow with a complicated expression as the red haired man looked away, a small bead of sweat dripping from his forehead. And with that the green eyed person left with a swipe of his sleeve, he then approached the owner of this small tea shop with a gentle smile. "Hello, Ms. Keystone. Looks like you have quite a lot of visitors today for the local town meeting!"
She was known to be a generous woman who always helped those in need which is why she got along with everyone well. Short and plump with a caring smile. Her brown hair was always tied up because she would spend most of her time working hard to keep her tea shop running. She was truly one to look up to.
Ms. Keystone responded with a pat on the green eyed lads back, "Yes! Quite a lot of folks have come up here! I am glad so many people care about our community, my husband is away for work but I know he would have loved this! The kids are out running a bit, you know how much energy those youngins have! Oh! And have you heard about the town's new brand of tea pots? They are absolutely wonderful! I'll give you one after the meeting! And......."
Although rather sweet, Ms. Keystone would talk quite a bit...she went on and on about random topics ranging from how her work is going to her favorite brands of makeup. Yet, the green eyed person was not bothered one bit. He was patient and engaged as he nodded and listened intently. This caused her to continue rambling on and on for about 15 minutes until he politely intervened.
"How interesting Ms. Keystone! We should discuss this more in depth with a cup of tea sometime!" She immediately nodded, "Why of course! When are you free? You know there are quite a lot of things I wanted to talk about with you! Interesting events around the town and planning for more events at my little tea shop..."
Before continuing a tall man walked up to them, all the ladies directed their attention to him as if they were instantly swooned. He had black hair that was lower back length, it looked both fluffy and soft. It was gracefully tied up in a high ponytail with small strands of hair falling and curling onto his pale skin. He grinned in delight as his striking burnt orange eyes glanced at the green eyed person then back to Ms. Keystone. He wore dark orange, almost red robes that held black and gold patterns of autumn leaves. Glistening streaks of sunlight made his robes even more eye-catching.
He spoke with a very smooth and fluent voice, "It's a pleasure to see you Ms. Keystone, I hope all is well. I was going to start our meeting right now, I apologize for running late." She nodded with a wide grin, "Don't worry about it! Oh! Before I forget, I'd like you to meet Lexxon! I am sure you two will get along well! The morning fortune guarantees it!"
Lexxon, the green eyed person, looked up at the tall man before him and was instantly caught off guard. His eyes widened a bit, this wasn't his normal reaction to meeting a charming person but something felt quite different. This man was so well put together, a striking sight to behold, Lexxon even felt that he looked memorable. He then subtlety snapped out of it and softly smiled, "Hello, my name is Lexxon, I tend to help out with issues among local towns. It's nice to meet you!" The tall man directed his gaze towards Lexxon as his grin widened, "Nice to meet you as well Mr. Lexxon, my name is Percivl. I hosted this event in hope to receive some help, I'm sure we could work together quite well."
Lexxon nodded with his emerald eyes lighting up as he stretched out his hand. Percival firmly took his hand and shook it in proper greeting. The two radiated a graceful aura which drew even more attention. Lexxon then motioned for the other two to come over as he explained, "I have a couple friends I believe could greatly assist!" Percivl nodded as he glanced over at the two approaching.
The red haired fellow crossed his arms and leaned against the wall as he examined Percivl. The yellow eyed man then swung his arm around the red haired fellow with a wide grin that highlighted his pearly whites. "Hey! Nice to meet you pal, the names' Remmington! And this little fella next to me is Baxton!"
And with that Baxton furrowed his brows, "Who is this?" Baxton was always the type to be on edge around newcomers. He sent a piercing glare Percivl's way. Percivl then looked around confused" as to where the voice came from. He then looked down on Baxton as if "barely" noticing him. He smirked and spoke in a tone that was subtly colder, "My name's Percivl, I am hosting this meeting. It's nice to see a little helper."
Lexxon was distracted by smoke coming from the kitchen in the tea house as he looked back at them to see a fuming Baxton, laughing Remmington, and calm Percivl. He then sighed as if used to this sight, "Well, let's get to this meeting!" With a swift change of attitude, Percivl grinned, "Sounds good."
Remmington dragged an angry Baxton back as Lexxon followed behind them in content. They all sat down as Baxton mumbled, "I don't trust that guy, it's best to be cautious." Remmington was silent for a split second and proceeded to ruffle his hair as if dismissing it while Lexxon shrugged it off. Baxton glared at the two as they each directed their attention to Percivl who stood in the middle of the tea shop ready to make an announcement.
All of the intermingling strangers began to tone down for the most part as they looked towards Percivl, eager to listen to what local disturbance was occuring. They suspected that it was related to the recent rumors that have been spreading regarding multiple people who have gone missing.
Some have the fear of speaking in front of others in large public groups but this wasn't the case with Percivl. He was calm and collected, he almost gave a self-content aura which drew even more attention. People like those who are confident and social, in fact they tend to flock to them which explains why Percivl was a big hit among the locals.
He looked around at all the unfamiliar faces and locked eyes with Lexxon for a split second as he explained, "Hello, it is a pleasure to see so many people who care about their town. I thank you all for taking time out of your day to come, my name is Percivl Lathan and I have recently moved to this town. I am sure most of you have heard about the recent missing persons cases, some may have lost loved ones. It has been a difficult time period but I hope we can come together to find whoever or whatever is behind this."
With that, he reached inside a satchel made of bright brown leather he bought with him. It looked as if images were carved on this satchel ranging from tigers to dragons, all so intricately carved. Whoever made this satchel must have spent a lot of time, possibly a well known artist. It was kept in pristine shape, one could tell that Percivl was a very organized man.
He took out a stack of freshly printed and stapled papers that appeared to have images of the missing people and many...many words. He then walked around to each table to pass them out. As he got to Lexxon's table he handed the papers directly to him. Lexxon took them as he mumbled with his small smile, "Thank you..." He didn't want to disturb the others reading which is why he mumbled in a low tone.
Percivl then tilted his head and leaned in closer to hear better, "Hm?" Lexxon made eye contact with him and looked away right after as if a bit bashful. He made sure to speak up a bit, "Thank you!" Percivl then nodded, "Mhm." He walked away with a small smirk hidden on his face as he finished passing out papers and giving people time to glance over it a bit.
Remmington and Baxton then read a bit and immediately locked eyes with raised eyebrows after. Lexxon then started flipping through the papers, quite concentrated. He noticed how elaborate and well researched these papers were. It thoroughly gave information on each missing person as well as similar patterns in the cases. At the very end one conclusion was drawn which completely threw everyone in the room off. One young man threw his paper in the trash and stormed out without sparing Percivl a second glance while others had complicated expressions.
Countless doubtful whispers engulfed the room, they assumed his conclusion was a pure joke but wasn't this a bit too well researched for a simple joke. In fact, Percivl was completely serious. Lexxon took a sip of tea as he read the conclusion which was soon harshly swallowed causing him to start coughing. Remmington patted Lexxon's back and shook his head, "That is quite a bold statement he made."
Baxton sighed with a shrug of his shoulders, "I told you something was off!" Lexxon then shook his head and collected himself shortly after, "Let's first hear what he has to say, he could have a valid point here. We can't be too quick to judge..."
Baxton rubbed his temples followed by another sigh. Remmington also looked a bit uneasy by it all as he nodded and looked towards Percivl for his explanation. Percivl did not seem the slightest bit fazed as he spoke up with confidence, "Freya, female, age 23. In her free time she enjoyed baking at home with her mother. Her family owns a local bakery that is well known for their pastries which is why she loved to bake so much. She would often give free pastries to her friends and leftovers to those in need of food. A very kind spirit who was often described as friendly and caring. She has made many accomplishments in her life and one day wanted to take over her family's bakery. Eva, female, age 25. She was a free spirit who often enjoyed exploring the forests around town..."
The list continued to go on for all 9 victims. There was much more information on each victim yet he summarized it all in a clear and concise manner. Everyone listened in respect to these poor souls yet they couldn't grasp why such a drastic conclusion could be made. Percivl finally got to his conclusion as he opened his satchel and packed his papers in.
"I understand why many of you are confused by such a far-fetched assumption without any clear reasoning or analysis which is why I am here to explain. I have good reason to believe that whoever or whatever did this was not an animal nor a human. If we look into the victim's gender it does not come into play, however, victims are between the ages of 20-25. They were all young adults and they were all passing the Constance Temple to come here. They were either passing in order to get to the next nearby town or to come back to our town. They all travelled alone and older citizens who have walked past it prior have not seen any suspicious activity. These poor young adults disappeared in the span of one week. 9 disappearances in one week in a town that is often frequented with people. They all left at different times of day, most in broad daylight. In fact, some family members recalled that they were planning on entering this temple. Those who entered the temple this week have not seen anything suspicious, keep in mind this is an area plain in sight. There is no place for a person to hide, one of our victims even had 10 years of experience in martial arts. He could have defended himself quite well in a serious situation. I, myself, even scouted out at this temple for a day in order to see what was occurring and I witnessed something horrifying. Liam, whom I mentioned earlier, was one of the young adults who entered the temple. I had waited outside the temple for an hour, passerbys that day may have noticed that. I was not trying to hide or conceal myself, soon after I entered, wondering why he was staying so long. It was dead silent the whole time. And to my surprise, he was gone. A person could not have up and kidnapped him while I was on watch that day. I searched the temple and there was no sign of him, the other bodies have not been found as well. This is exactly why I believe that whoever or whatever took him could not have been human."
The whole room was silent for a minute or so as they all stared at him in disbelief of how delusional his story was. After this minute, they had all looked at each other with expressions that spoke volumes. Some had looked in horror wondering how he got all of this info, what if he was secretly the one who had taken these poor folks' lives? How can he expect us to believe such a far fetched and crazy assumption? Is this some sort of joke?
Baxton leaned back in his chair as he glared at Percivl, "Are these lives some kind of joke to you? How could you expect us to fully trust you when you are making such baseless and crazy assumptions?"
In this world, there was no such thing as heavenly power or demonic power. They were beliefs of some people but it was not established. Those who had believed in it were often viewed as mentally disturbed or simply delusional. There was no solid proof that had shed light on it, this is exactly why Percivl's claims threw people in for such a loop.
Although Baxton did hold a valid point, Lexxon couldn't help but frown at him as he spoke up, "A lead is better than nothing at all, although it does sound far-fetched there is no harm in doing more research. If he truly was the one behind this he would not have put himself out in the open like this. Not only that, he has done plenty of research and gathered information for us. We should at least be thankful for that and not judge so harshly until we know what is truly occurring."
Baxton's mouth dropped open as his eyebrow twitched, "Lexxon...this is..." He sighed and said nothing more because he did not wish to argue. However, others were getting quite riled up and angry by such an outrageous assumption. Percivl glanced at Baxton and then at Lexxon with an uncertain expression. Almost conflicted, he had not expected many to believe him, nonetheless defend him. He looked away after with a small cough, "Mhm."
Whispers immediately began to explode within the room until a confident voice spoke up once again, "He is telling the truth."
Everyone looked in the direction of this voice and a strong man with honey eyes glanced at Percivl resolutely. It was Remmington.
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