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k_a_webbA fourth cornsnake slithered up to them, just as Bertram had finished describing the last of the horses. After a short, whispered, conversation, the first snake turned to Peric and said, “We’ve just had a report that there’s been a break-in at the town hall. The details are a little vague at the moment, but we know that the Moonjumper Bureau was targeted and several other offices.” There was a long silence. “It appears that your office was targeted too, sir.”
“What?” Peric asked, unable to believe what he’d just heard. The thought of someone going through his office… it filled him with anger, because it was full of his private files. “That’s…” He shook his head.
“It would be useful for our enquiries if you could go through everything and let us know what, if anything, has been taken. There’s every chance that nothing has been, but, because you’ve been working on finding out who’s been creating counterfeit charms in town, anything that has gone may give us some idea of who broke into the town hall and whether it has any connection with the work you’ve been doing.”
Nodding, Peric found himself thinking, instead of feeling. Who would have broken into the town hall? What might they have taken from his office? He’d been searching for the counterfeiters even since the number of charms had increased and he had cabinets full of files about different counterfeits he’d found, who had them, and when they’d been confiscated. In six months the information he’d gained increased tenfold, but he still wasn’t anywhere nearer finding out who was the ring leader.
“We should go now, Bertram,” Peric said, still thinking.
“Do you mind if I tag along?” Lucille asked. “I want to check on the Moonjumper Bureau. The mouse in there was very kind to me and I don’t want him to left alone to deal with the break-in.”
“That’s really kind of you,” Bertram replied. “The Bureau doesn’t get much respect, because we very rarely see any Moonjumpers.”
“I know the last Council Moonjumper to visit Sheepshank was here a decade ago and we know that Quiar is well know for their… non-Council Moonjumpers.” When Peric looked at Lucille she smiled at him. “Everyone knows they exist and you protect them, but I’m not going to do anything to cause more tension between us and Quiar. I want to be able to come back again.”
“Thank you,” Peric said. “We do appreciate that you’ve taken time to visit Sheepshank and I know that Aulus will be grateful for someone’s help.” He smiled. “Bertram is right about the Bureau being seen as a joke, but having you here… it might do the Bureau some good. Hopefully people will begin to realise that it doesn’t matter how often a Moonjumper visits, because we should always respect all the Moonjumpers and the Council. Having the Bureau in little more than a broom cupboard doesn’t show respect to anyone.”
“Is there anything that can be done about the office the Bureau is given?”
“You might be able to convince someone to move the Bureau.” Peric shrugged. “It will take a lot of persuasion though and right now I don’t think anyone will listen, because of the break-in.”
“I’ll talk to someone during my next visit. I plan on visiting Quiar regularly, hopefully convince some other Moonjumpers to come here, and once that happens hopefully we’ll begin to work together properly.” Lucille did sound truly hopeful and Peric began to feel the same hope, even though he remembered the visit of the last Council Moonjumper, because she was different. “Quiar is important to me.”
“Really?” Bertram asked, as they began walking towards the town hall. “It seems like off worlders have two reactions to us: they either look at us in disgust because of what we are or they see us as something they can use.”
“I’m not like other off worlders,” Lucille replied. “When I chose to become a Moonjumper I knew that it would mean I met a number of different races and the races of Quiar were a surprise when I first visited this world, but I think you’re all wonderful. You’re different and to me that’s a good thing, which is why I want to become a normal sight. I know that only Moonjumpers would be relatively safe here, so I’m not going to go back and tell everyone that this is a wonderful vacation spot, but it’s important that we do the work to make you feel a part of the web.”
“We don’t all want to be a part of the web,” Peric said. “You’ve seen that Larnach isn’t even totally safe for off worlders, no matter what they are, and having more Council Moonjumpers here…” He shook his head. “I don’t think it would be a good idea, necessarily, but if the Moonjumpers are the right sort of people then it might work.”
Lucille nodded. “I get exactly what you’re saying. There are too many Moonjumpers who view anything different as wrong, but I’m not one of them and there others who are like me.” She sighed. “Not enough, but some.”
“It’s not your fault, Lucille. The fae…” Peric trailed off, not knowing how much she knew about the fae and the way the fae had created everything around them.
“I know. All the Council Moonjumpers know.”
“That’s good?”
“Good and bad. It’s good to know why we are here and why there’s web, but they did make some huge mistakes.”
“Especially with the Moonjumpers,” Peric said, even though the last thing he wanted to do was cause an argument, because he did feel that the fae, and the Council, had been wrong when they decided to take control of who could moonjump.
There was a long silence, which worried Peric, before Lucille replied, “I’m not condoning what they did, because it was wrong, but at the same time I can’t help being grateful. If they hadn’t made the choices they did I never would have been able to travel the web the way I can now and that’s something I can’t imagine not being able to do.”
Peric found himself smiling at Lucille’s careful answer. “I can understand why you’d be grateful.”
“The problem I have is how I came to have the ability. I wish the Council had found a way to work with the natural Moonjumpers rather than doing their best to destroy them, but it’s not something I can change, so I appreciate what I have because of their mistakes because it’s the only thing I can do.”
The town hall came into view as Peric glanced at the Moonjumper, unable to believe how different she was to the one from before. “I like you, Lucille,” he admitted. “If you do ever come back feel free to visit us.”
“I’ll do my best, Peric, because I like you too. I like Sheepshank, too.”
“Even though you were attacked.”
“I never expected anywhere on Quiar to be fully safe, and I should have been better prepared. Having you there to rescue me is a reminder that there is going to be good and bad in every place, so I’m not going to judge Sheepshank by the bad but by the good, and as the good is you, Bertram, and Aulus Sheepshank is wonderful.”
They stepped into the town hall, with Peric trying to find some way to reply to what Lucille had just said, and made their way first to the Moonjumper’s Bureau. Aulus sat in his chair, with his elbows on the bureau, his head in his hands, looking utterly dejected. It was a surprise when Lucille walked straight up to him and put her arms around the mouse.
“Are you alright, Aulus?” she asked, sounding truly worried.
“I went to lunch and when I came back…” Aulus looked up, surprise filling his face when he saw Peric and Bertram. “There isn’t a lot of damage, but the book was stolen. Just after I got a chance to write in it it was stolen.”
“What happened wasn’t your fault,” Lucille said. “Obviously someone was looking for something and they found it.” She glanced over at Peric and he could see the worry her in eyes. “How about I get you another book? We have all the same information you have on Athare so I could copy it all down for you and bring it back when I next visit.”
“You’d do that for me?” Aulus said, sounding even more surprised. “A Moonjumper would do that for me?”
“Of course I would, Aulus.” She squeezed the mouse. “I can do something even better than that for you. As a Moonjumper I have the freedom to invite people to Athare and if you wanted you could visit.”
“I don’t think I could, because I have very sensitive skin.”
“There are ways around that with temporary tattoos. Most people don’t know this, so don’t go spreading it around, but for people with sensitive skin like yours you can get a tattoo done on something other than your skin and as long as you keep it close you can use it until it fades.” Lucille smiled. “I guess that’s technically then not a tattoo, but it doesn’t matter.”
“If that is possible,” Aulus said slowly, appearing to think through his answer as he was speaking, “I would love to visit Athare. As long as you stay with me.”
“Of course I will. I’ll set it up, so you can come over whenever you wish. As you’re my visitor you’ll be sent to a waiting area until I come and get you, which I will do as quickly as I can, and then I’ll take you on a tour.”
“Thank you, Lucille, for all your kindness.”
“We need to make our way to Peric and Bertram’s office. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”
“I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. No other Moonjumper is going to be visiting while I’m here and I think it would do you some good to have some time to relax.”
Aulus looked at Peric. “She’s right,” Peric said, smiling at the young mouse. “You’ve had a shock and the best thing you can do is relax for a little while.” He slipped his hand into his bag and pulled out a couple of coins. “Get yourself a pastry and a cup of something warm.”
“And sweet.” Lucille looked back at Peric, smiling. “Having something sweet is good for shock.”
“Okay,” Aulus replied. Standing, the mouse smiled up shyly at Lucille. “Thank you, Lucille. I…” He shrugged. “I expected you to be angry with me.”
“Never, Aulus. Go and enjoy your time.”
Still smiling Aulus made his way over to where Peric was standing with Bertram. “Thank you, too, sir. It’s been a hard day.”
“I know. We still have our office to check, so I can only hope that we’ve been as lucky as you were.” Peric doubted that they had been, but reassuring Aulus was higher on his list than worrying about what he might find. “If you ever need any help feel free to ask me. It’s not easy being in charge of the Bureau.”
Peric passed the coins he had to Aulus, taking a note of how much it was so he could write it down later. Aulus, still smiling shyly, bowed to them all, even Bertram, before walking off. Together Peric, Bertram, and Lucille went in the opposite direction, going further into the town hall. Peric found himself admiring Lucille more with every act, because she was so different to the other Moonjumper and was almost the opposite of how he expected any Moonjumper to be.
“You did a good thing for Aulus,” Bertram said. “He needed someone to look after him with what had happened and it was nice of you to do it, Lucille.”
“I liked him from the moment I met him, Bertram. I could hardly ignore how distressed he was.”
It wasn’t far from the Bureau to Peric’s office, where they found a couple of cornsnakes waiting for them. They both nodded, and Peric nodded back in a gesture of greeting, before stepping into the room he didn’t really want to enter. When he saw the disarray in the room, all of his filing cabinets had been searched though and the files thrown everywhere, he bit his lip, trying not to let his feelings show too badly.
“We need a list of everything that’s been taken,” one of the cornsnakes said. “I doubt we’ll find your files, but the least we can do is look.”
Peric nodded. “Did you talk to Aulus?” he asked.
“Why would we do that?” the other cornsnake replied, obviously trying not to laugh. “The Bureau being targeted means nothing.”
“You don’t know that,” Peric said, his eyes meeting Lucille’s. “Lucille is our first visitor for a decade and you don’t think that there may be some link.”
Lucille nodded. “Aulus said his record book was taken. It holds information about all the Moonjumpers who have visited Quiar and…” She sighed. “Some of them are still alive, so it may be that someone is trying to find out about Moonjumpers. The two things may not be connected, but it would be worth looking into, just in case. The Council would appreciate the help and I would hope that I could convince them that your help was worth paying for.”
The cornsnakes looked at each other. “Okay,” the first one said. “You make a valid argument. We’ll search for the Bureau’s Record Book too, and see if there is some connection between the two.”
Smiling, Lucille started picking up the files that were closest to the door. “Thank you. I will do my best to make sure the Council sends some money to Sheepshank and the police department here.”
“I’ll make certain that you superior knows how much help you were too,” Peric said, also managing to smile at the cornsnakes. “We’re going to be here a while, so why don’t you get yourselves a hot drink while we’re busy.”
The cornsnakes both nodded, smiling gratefully at Peric, before slithering down the corridor. Once Peric was sure they were out of earshot he looked at Bertram. All Bertram needed to do was nod for Peric to know that the raven knew exactly what to do and as Bertram made his way into his small office Peric started to help Lucille with the gathering of files.
“We keep back-ups,” Peric said quietly to the Moonjumper. “In Bertram’s office we keep a filing cabinet with copies of everything and it’s charmed so no one apart from us knows it’s there. Once we’ve gone through everything we have we can check in the second cabinet what’s missing.”
“What do you expect to be missing?” Lucille asked, putting a pile of files onto Peric’s desk.
Peric sighed when he noticed that his desk had been searched too, trying to channel his anger into tidying the files. “Files relating to a counterfeit charm case we’ve been looking into. That was why we were in town today, actually, trying to find out more about who might be selling them.”
To be continued. (This part ended up being much longer than I planned on it being.)
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.