Distinctive Feature
POV: Derek
I finished up the questioning of the Duke and Duchess of Befent and was promptly shown to my room. I unpacked my things into the wardrobe in my room and stepped out of my door when I saw Talon step out of his room on the opposite side of the hallway from me. He smiled, “Derek, I didn’t know you’d be here.” I nodded, “I take it you haven’t talked to your sister lately then?” He shook his head, “Vanessa and I are on a much-needed vacation so we decided to tour Vellum. Why? Is something going on?” I nodded, “Darren had a heart attack and isn’t expected to live much longer. I was sent here to find out what happened to his ward Tyleesh before he passes on.” Talon’s smile that he had on his face slowly turned to an expression of sadness, “I had not heard that. My poor family, just when we thought we’d finally be whole again and this happens. Is there anything I can do to assist?” I widened my eyes, “I don’t want to take you away from Ms. Tannen.” He shook his head, “If it’s for Darren, she wouldn’t mind. Let me go talk to her. She deserves to know what is happening with Darren.” He went up to the door next door and knocked, he gestured for me to join him. Vanessa opened the door smiling, “Coming my love.” She saw me standing with him over his shoulder and looked confused, “What’s going on?” Talon sighed, “I think it is best we all sit down and Derek will have to give us details on what he just told me.” She stepped aside and held out her arm, “That sounds rather ominous. Please come in so we can chat.”
I stepped in after Talon, feeling rather uncomfortable entering the room of my professor. I sat down opposite of Talon and Vanessa sat in between us. I inhaled deeply, “So where should I begin? Ah, probably when Alexandra and I were going to pick up her mask for the ball. I think you both were probably gone before then. It was almost a week ago.” Talon nodded, “Yeah, Ness and I left Blackwood nearly two weeks ago. We went to visit the vineyards in Baltiliard to sample the new Solamor wine.” I nodded, “Okay, so I was escorting Alexandra to the store and we were having a pleasant conversation about how she’s in love with the King and I’m in love with Jess. Well, when we got to the store and she stepped out of the carriage, she was hit by an arrow in her stomach.” Vanessa gasped and grabbed onto Talon, “We need to get home now!” Talon’s eyes were widened, “You didn’t lead with that earlier, Chalshin. I would think it would be pertinent information to know that my niece was shot, don’t you?” I sighed, “She’s recovered thanks to a surgery and small reversion to take the King’s blood. She still has the wound but it isn’t nearly as bad as initially thought it would be. She was able to make us all dinner last night.” He heaved a sigh of relief and sat back in his chair with Vanessa doing the same. She looked at me, “So I’m assuming there’s more since Talon said you should have led with that?” I nodded, “Yes, we found out that Darren had a psychic connection with Alexandra during this ordeal. Because of this it put a strain on his heart and caused a massive heart attack. He’s been bed-ridden ever since and we have been told it won’t be long. Theodore Befent is currently assisting in his treatment to try to prolong his life.” Vanessa started to sniffle and tears were welling in her eyes, “Oh Talon, I have long regarded Darren as a father figure. This is awful. I think I need to return to Blackwood as soon as possible.” Talon nodded, “I agree but let Derek finish. He’s here on a mission for Darren.” She looked at me, “I assume this has to do with Tyleesh?” I looked at Talon who was shocked at her statement, “Yes, I was sent here to find out what happened to him.” She looked at Talon, “I assume you want to assist then? You wanted my permission to take time away to help the investigation?” He nodded at her, “I know you need to return to Blackwood but I want to stay back for Darren’s sake. I think I can help out.” Vanessa patted him on the arm, “Of course, if it is for Darren. Do anything you can to help out. I will pack up and send my apologies to the Duke and Duchess for leaving so soon. I’m sure they will understand.” He sat there gazing at her lovingly and she grunted, “Hop to it! This mystery isn’t going to solve itself. Kindly go away!”
We both rose from our seats and he kissed her on the cheek, “Safe travels, my love. I will see you back home then.” She smiled and nodded, “Won’t be much of a trip. I fully intend on using my method to get back.” He chuckled, “As expected but still safe portaling back to Blackwood.” We left the room and Talon looked at me, “So what’s the plan right now?” I updated him on how I read the journals that Tyleesh left behind and questioned the Duke and Duchess. He nodded, “So we need to question the stable staff next?” I pulled out my notebook, “Yeah, they said we’d probably have luck finding a distinctive feature of the hooded man if we talked to them.” He stepped forward and walked towards the stairs, “Let’s get going then. Time is of the essence.” I jogged to catch up to him in disbelief that I was going to get to work with the one I regarded as my childhood idol. We found ourselves in front of the stables when a young man walked out to a cart holding the hay for the horses. Talon smiled and waved at him, “Hey Carter, can we have a quick word?” He looked up at Talon and smiled, “Of course Sir Talon! What do you need?” He gestured to me, “This is my good friend Derek, he’s here to investigate what happened to Tyleesh. Do you remember Tyleesh?” The kid’s face lit up, “Are you another Citadel soldier?” I nodded, “I am. My name is Derek Chalshin.” His eyes widened, “I’ve heard of you! You’re guarding the most beautiful woman in Vellum.” Talon looked at the kid, “Are you referring to The Batiste?” He nodded, “They say she has the most beautiful purple eyes and that she’s really kind.” I chuckled, “She is a very nice person but she has a very sharp wit that can be harsh if you’re on the receiving end of it. I’ve been a victim a time or two.” The kid laughed, “I hope to meet her one day.” I ruffled the kid’s hair, “You might, she’s become friends with Theodore.” He gasped, “She must be something special if she got Master Theo to be friends with her already. Master Tyleesh had a very hard time getting Master Theo to open up to him.” Talon sighed, “She has a knack for softening hearts. So you do remember Tyleesh then?” He nodded, “Oh yes, I even remember that hooded guy who kept approaching him.” I put my pen to the small notebook I had in my hand, “Were you able to get a look at him?” He nodded, “Yeah but not his face. I got to see his arm. It had a tattoo of a phoenix.”
Talon clenched his jaw, “Are you sure you saw that particular tattoo?” The kid nodded, “Oh yeah, I remember thinking the tattoo was really cool.” He nodded at the kid, “Alright Carter, that’s all we needed. We’ll let you get back to work.” Talon cursed under his breath and precipitously walked off. He seemed rather upset about this turn of events. I rushed to catch up with him and after I caught my breath I asked, “What’s up?” He turned to me, “He was abducted for sure. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind about that.” My eyes widened, “You can determine that just from that conversation. What makes you absolutely certain he was abducted then?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I know that tattoo. If he was in contact with the man with that tattoo, he was most definitely abducted by The Order. The question for me is how do we find out why. This is very upsetting news.” I heaved out a heavy breath, “That’s…that’s a pretty heavy thing for sure, Talon. What do we do from here then? Do you have any suggestions?” He walked off again, “Let me get a few minutes to think alone. I just need to take a short walk to clear my head and think of the next steps. Wait here.” He walked a ways down the road, Befent Estate was populated by farmlands. They produced much of the dairy and meat products for Vellum so there were wide open spaces with animals and pastures. It was a great place to go for a head-clearing walk, there wasn’t much traffic on the roads so he wouldn’t be disturbed either. I sat down on a nearby bench and went over my notes. If the tattoo was so distinctive to Talon, he must have seen it on an Order member. I wrote down to ask him who it belonged to when he returned. I also wrote down that Tyleesh was likely abducted by The Order. The question is why they felt they needed to take him and like Talon had said how do we find this information out. This meant that a ward of House Batiste was somewhere in a prison doing Gods knows what for them.
A shadow fell across my paper and I looked up. It was Vanessa holding her bag, “Where’s Talon? I figured I would let him know that I’m off now.” I sighed, “We questioned the stable boy and he told us the hooded guy we were looking into had a tattoo. He walked off for some time alone to think. I think he should be back soon.” She nodded and sat down next to me, “Okay then I will sit here and keep you company while he’s gone. I don’t want to leave without him knowing I’m gone.”
She looked down at the notebook and gasped, “A phoenix tattoo on his arm?!” I jumped at her shout and looked at her, “Is that something to shout about Ms. Tannen?” She looked me in the eye, “Talon has a phoenix tattoo on his arm. He’s likely beating himself up for whatever brainwashing The Order did on him to assist in the abduction of Tyleesh. We need to find him.” We heard him say behind us, “There’s no need. I just needed time to think if I could remember what happened here.” She sighed with relief, “So do you remember anything to help out?” He shook his head, “No, which means that I need to find Whisperia in Blackwood to regain my memory.”
