Chapter 2: Investigator
When Gilbreath left the store, Artemis returned to his forge. He had a backlog of repair and recasting orders that were still unfinished. An hour of the melodic and periodic clangs of hammer on hot metal later, a customer actually entered the shop. It was a little boy with a scrappy appearance. As he opened the wooden door of the store, the attached bell rang, causing Artemis to stop his work and turn up at the storefront.
Looking at the young boy with poor clothes, Artemis shook his head. He took out a small steel sword the boy had brought back for him to repair a few days earlier. The sword now appeared brand new and was glittering like a novelty. "Boy, don't go adventuring in the abyss again. Don't you have school to attend to?" Artemis grumbled as he handed the item over and collected the bronze coins in return.
"There's nothing to be learned at the stupid school. They just make us memorize the appearance of goblins and which berries and mushrooms in the abyss are poisonous. I want to make money, not squat at the stupid school." The agitation in the boy's tremulous voice was as obvious as the sweetness of the Abyss' fruits to Artemis.
Artemis didn't know this boy particularly, but he was familiar with this situation. The most likely business was that the boy's parent or some relative had been injured within the Monolith's lands and the boy was in need of money. Unfortunately, Artemis could only sigh. This was a common sight in Monolith City. Life in the Abyss was difficult and the consequences were often not convenient ones. "Just be careful and stick to the first level. Don't go deeper." He warned the boy, though from the repairs of the weapon the boy had handed to him earlier, Artemis had already guessed that the young boy was not going to heed his advice.
When Artemis was finally finished with the day's work, he'd cleared out all the backlog repairs. After closing down the shop, he stepped out on the street. The sun was still above the horizon, but no longer as terrifyingly hot. The sky was purple in anticipation of a sunset. Artemis felt the cooler winds pass him by as he made his way through the quiet narrow street his shop was in to the more crowded city center near the Monolith.
The stalls in this area was bustling with business and activity. People were lining up to enter the monolith or leaving the area. Others were checking out wares that adventurers had brought out from the Abyss. Artemis ignored this central area and instead walked over to the large central building near the Monolith. The Adventurer's guild.
The guild was the center of all Monolith related activities in the city. It was also one of the critical governing infrastructures in the city that collaboratively decided the rules. Whether it was news, information, bounties, information from the 'civilized' world - everything could be found here. Artemis, as a person in his twenties, fit the profile of a lot of the most active citizens of Monolith city. He was a known quantity to people in the Adventurers guild - a reliable repairman forger and a person who didn't interfere much in city affairs. It was the quiet kind of individual the guild preferred to have in the city as opposed to the power hungry megalomaniacs who actually flocked to the Monolith's lands in search of strength.
Artemis took a glance at the guild's notice bard for bounties, requests or assignments before ignoring it. He walked over the the information guild to get the brief of the day's news. In the absence of technology, this had become a common behavior for the citizens every evening or every week. As he took a look at the noticeboard with the day's briefs written in excellent calligraphy, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Turning to his left, Artemis found a woman dressed in office wear that was completely incongruent to the medieval and makeshift dressing style of most others in the in the city. He frowned, because he immediately recognized that this was one of those investigators the "U.N." from the outside sent into Monolith City.
"Are you Mr. Artemis?" The lady asked in a voice as curt as her stoic expression. Artemis nodded. In response, she took out a badge and flashed it in front of him. "As you can see, I am an investigator for the 'outside'. I'd like to ask you a few questions."
Artemis shrugged. "I am sure you know that every investigation has to go through the Adventurer's Guild and the Monolithic Diplomatic Corps. Unless you have a warrant or a statement of permission, please don't disturb me." He wanted to leave the place immediately, but the woman was quicker. She blocked his way and took out the Statement of Permission.
Artemis felt like swearing at the Guild, which had sold him out so eagerly. The woman raised an eye. "Are you wiling to talk peacefully or do we have to do this the hard way?"
A few minutes later, the two were sitting inside an interrogation cabin specifically designed to hold individuals within the Adventurer's Guild. Artemis was still holding a sullen expression on his face, while the lady took out a large folder out of her briefcase as she sat opposite him.
"I'm Investigator Meredith Swann." The lady said as she offered her hand as a gesture of introduction. Artemis firmly rebuffed her, causing to awkwardly take her hand back. "Do you know why I'm here?" She asked quickly, trying to move on.
"No." Was the curt reply.
"Mr. Artemis, or should I call you Levi Shackle? I'm here because of an incident in your past life." The Inspector opened the folder showing photographs of a younger Artemis in a similar investigator outfit, a class photograph and other excruciating details of his private life. Seeing those images caused Artemis to freeze. However, his face soon turned expressionless.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone